SlapshotWrangler

Hello friends, 
 
   I am officially announcing my retirement as General Manager of the Calgary Wranglers. There are a few reasons as to why I have made this decision and now is the best time to take a step back from this role to better spend my time in other areas of the league and in my personal life.
 
    I hold a pretty high bar for myself when it comes to maintaining a certain level of activity for any locker room that I am in charge of. The day that became a chore is the day I knew it was time for a much needed break. I also live a super busy personal life and this has also made it harder to give the locker room my full attention.
 
    There is nothing to worry about in terms of my participation in the league. I still very much enjoy and love being apart of this league. I will have better focus on my player and the locker room I’m apart of there. I have my moderation gig that I’ll have more time to focus on and one day I do plan on stepping back into a GM role because it truly is a passion of mine.
 
    Lastly, thank you to all the GMs I have had a pleasure to work with since I’ve started, all the AGMs who have worked along side me over the seasons and the players who grinded it out and bought into the way I wanted things to run in Calgary. I am not going to ping everyone who’s been an important part of this journey, I think you all know who you are at this point. 
 
Ricer, out!! 🎤 ⬇️ 
 
**I do recommend that @leandrofg be considered to step in as replacement. He has been running the team behind the scenes this past season and has a really good handle on how things are going in Calgary. He also has a long history with the organization. I will respect whatever decision is made for my replacement.**

CALGARY - There are a few games left in the regular season. Raimo has experienced a rookie season full of ups and downs. Maybe he wasn’t as consistent as he had hoped. Maybe he could have buried more chances. But what has been done has been done and now it is up to Raimo to make the most of the last few games of his rookie season in order to contribute to the Wranglers’ final push to the playoffs. Clinging on to a playoff spot will prove to be a test for this interesting Wranglers’ team.
 
“It’s the final stretch of the regular season. We’re all going to put in hard work and chip in to make sure that we can be in the postseason at the end of it all. I’ve been a bit disappointed in my rookie season but that cannot be my mindset right now. Since we’re in a tight race, I need to make sure I can get to the top of my game as I am right now. Seeing that I’m the team’s second center, I need to make sure that I remain a solid second option in the middle. I’ll be honest, I’ve been watching Randy a lot from the bench. I can learn and have been learning so much from him. Now I just need to be consistent with it.”

CALGARY - Finding a groove is what Raimo Tuominen needs to do as the season nears its end. He has had flashes of excellent play throughout the season and has had the benefit of being a part of a great forward group. Regardless, Raimo has been streaky at best and offensively silent at worst. He has also been okay defensively but has not really excelled in either aspect of the game yet. Raimo intends on continuing to focus on his defensive development but also looks to improve his puck handling skills so that he can help his linemates and the d-men at the points to retain possession.
 
“It’s been interesting. There are some days where I am able to mesh with the rest of the team and help get some offense going. Other days though nothing I seem to do works. It’s a real problem and I really hope to get consistent soon. I’ve been given a great opportunity to play alongside some awesome linemates but at this point, I need to be able to contribute somehow too. Whether defensively or offensively. Right now, I’m doing decently at both but I need to excel at one or the other if not both.”

The following article was written prior to the start of the season.)
 
CALGARY - The Wranglers are poised to be Calgary’s best major league hockey team which you quickly realize is not much of an accomplishment when you watch the Flames play. Still, there is a lot of pressure along with the excitement, especially for a young rookie center preparing for his first season on big league ice. Being a high draft pick, expectations are lofty. The most pressing of expectations come from himself. Raimo Tuominen may be excited but...
 
“Yeah, naturally, I am a bit anxious.”
 
Thankfully, there is a player who was able to reach out and he hopes to give his guidance. A player who has been in this position before. A fourth overall pick who played his entire career with the Wranglers. Raimo is a forward but surely there is stuff to learn from Jacques Lafontaine, even if he is a goalie. Jacques was a starter for the Wranglers, whose steady and solid play earned him the starter’s net night after night. Fortunately for Raimo, Jacques has the perfect idea of a way that Raimo could clear his mind.
 
“Follow me and I’ll show you one of my secrets to success,” Lafontaine had said to the younger player.
 
It had been quite a while since Jacques strapped the pads for the Wranglers; now, he is a goalie coach for an AAA team here in Calgary. He has retired from playing; save for some beer league games he joined for fun. Regardless, he is on the rotation as an EBUG for the Calgary Flames. Still, Jacques had many connections in the city and with the team, so he was able to visit Raimo after a practice in the team locker room. Why would a goalie help out a forward?
 
“The goalies know the mental game and can master it better than any forward. No offense to any forwards out there but that is factual and I will not take any arguments. We have to know it better than anyone else on the ice if we want to perform well. It is a necessity for survival in between the pipes. Raimo is no goalie but he could learn a thing or two.”
 
According to Raimo, Jacques had told him in the locker room to wait in the players’ parking lot. 
They had just finished another day of training camp. Jacques left and Raimo quickly got his gear off, showered, and left the room.
 
Now outside, Raimo was patiently waiting for Jacques. However, as he looked around, he couldn’t see any trace of him. He waited for a bit longer. A helicopter passed over his head. Other than the whirring of the helicopter , it was dead silent.
 
“Hey Raimo, up here!”
 
The voice came from above Raimo’s head. It turns out Jacques was in the helicopter, holding a picnic basket and waving to Raimo. He threw down a rope ladder. Raimo was utterly terrified. He froze up for a bit, staring at Jacques in disbelief. Did he want him to climb the rope ladder?”
 
“Come on, you do want to know my secret for success right?”
 
Raimo sighed and steeled himself before desperately clinging on the the ladder, hoping nothing would happen. He scurried up the rope ladder unto the cockpit. Once he was in and secure, the rope ladder was pulled back in and the helicopter rose before landing on top of the Saddledome. The two guys got off the helicopter and along with the pilot, they had some tuna sandwiches on top of the ‘Dome.
 
Later, Jacques laughed at Raimo’s exasperated face after the former told the latter that he could have just taken some stairs and a ladder.

CALGARY - After struggling a bit to start off the season, Raimo has found some sort of rhythm. Now with 10 points in 22 games, he is starting to look a bit more comfortable on the big league ice. It was a bit of an adjustment for the young center, who admits that he was slightly surprised by the jump in the level of play. Now he has something to build on and he heavily credits the coaches and his teammates for helping him make the adjustment.
 
“Yeah, everybody was just giving me tips on how to improve my game little by little. Those small adjustments are helping me find a bit of a groove. Though I also have to shout out my linemates, Oreo McFleury and Rip Wheeler. Those guys are tearing it up and making my job way easier. They are excellent and I hope that I can continue to improve at my position so I can let them work their magic. I think right now this line is similar to the Kariya - Rucchin - Selanne line in that you have two guys who are really connecting and making offense happen while I just try my hardest to create space. If that’s what is working for me, I’m happy. It really helps that both are always open whenever I have the puck.”

The following article was written prior to the start of the season.)
 
CALGARY - The Wranglers are poised to be Calgary’s best major league hockey team which you quickly realize is not much of an accomplishment when you watch the Flames play. Still, there is a lot of pressure along with the excitement, especially for a young rookie center preparing for his first season on big league ice. Being a high draft pick, expectations are lofty. The most pressing of expectations come from himself. Raimo Tuominen may be excited but...
 
“Yeah, naturally, I am a bit anxious.”
 
Thankfully, there is a player who was able to reach out and he hopes to give his guidance. A player who has been in this position before. A fourth overall pick who played his entire career with the Wranglers. Raimo is a forward but surely there is stuff to learn from Jacques Lafontaine, even if he is a goalie. Jacques was a starter for the Wranglers, whose steady and solid play earned him the starter’s net night after night. Fortunately for Raimo, Jacques has the perfect idea of a way that Raimo could clear his mind.
 
“Follow me and I’ll show you one of my secrets to success,” Lafontaine had said to the younger player.
 
It had been quite a while since Jacques strapped the pads for the Wranglers; now, he is a goalie coach for an AAA team here in Calgary. He has retired from playing; save for some beer league games he joined for fun. Regardless, he is on the rotation as an EBUG for the Calgary Flames. Still, Jacques had many connections in the city and with the team, so he was able to visit Raimo after a practice in the team locker room. Why would a goalie help out a forward?
 
“The goalies know the mental game and can master it better than any forward. No offense to any forwards out there but that is factual and I will not take any arguments. We have to know it better than anyone else on the ice if we want to perform well. It is a necessity for survival in between the pipes. Raimo is no goalie but he could learn a thing or two.”
 
According to Raimo, Jacques had told him in the locker room to wait in the players’ parking lot. 
They had just finished another day of training camp. Jacques left and Raimo quickly got his gear off, showered, and left the room.
 
Now outside, Raimo was patiently waiting for Jacques. However, as he looked around, he couldn’t see any trace of him. He waited for a bit longer. A helicopter passed over his head. Other than the whirring of the helicopter , it was dead silent.
 
“Hey Raimo, up here!”
 
The voice came from above Raimo’s head. It turns out Jacques was in the helicopter, holding a picnic basket and waving to Raimo. He threw down a rope ladder. Raimo was utterly terrified. He froze up for a bit, staring at Jacques in disbelief. Did he want him to climb the rope ladder?”
 
“Come on, you do want to know my secret for success right?”
 
Raimo sighed and steeled himself before desperately clinging on the the ladder, hoping nothing would happen. He scurried up the rope ladder unto the cockpit. Once he was in and secure, the rope ladder was pulled back in and the helicopter rose before landing on top of the Saddledome. The two guys got off the helicopter and along with the pilot, they had some tuna sandwiches on top of the ‘Dome.
 
Later, Jacques laughed at Raimo’s exasperated face after the former told the latter that he could have just taken some stairs and a ladder.

(This was written prior to the start of the season.)
 
CALGARY - Raimo will once again get to wear his beloved number 44 on the back of his jersey again. As mentioned in a previous article, 8 used to be favoured by the Finn (naturally, because of Teemu Selanne), however with Tappara, he had to switch to 44. Having wore the double fours in the SM-liiga, VHLM, and the VHLE, it is also unsurprising that Raimo chooses to don the number yet again. Now with the Wranglers, Raimo will be wearing the number 44 and working hard to make it a number that makes that Calgary faithful and his teammates alike feel safe when it’s on the ice.
 
“It’s always a been a special number. I mean, no longer just in terms of superstition. Superstition aside, it was the number sewn on my back for many of my achievements. It’s the number I wore and it’s stuck through my SM-Liiga days, my VHLM days, my VHLE days, and now I get to suit up in the big leagues while wearing it. It’s become more than a tribute to the number 8 Selanne wore; it really feels like a number of my own.”

This is a very objective list where my opinion is the law and everything else is untrue. Jokes aside, this is based on my opinion and is no way supposed to be set in stone. This is not based on my enjoyment of being the player but based on how “skilled” I would consider them. Besides, all of my past players were a bit mid anyway and the order is actually quite obvious now that I think about it. But because I can’t get enough of being a narcissist, let’s talk about my players! I have had only three players and Raimo is my fourth player so I don’t have as extensive of a list as others may have but I remember having a lot of fun with all three. I guess you can say I have a bit of an archetype as I have had two forwards and one goalie, with Raimo being the third forward. Maybe I should consider spicing it up in the future. Regardless, I will be ranking these three players; making for a really short ranking but it also means I can say a lot about what I think about these three players. Without a further ado, here is the ranking starting from lowest ranked to highest ranked.
 
Third Place: Ryuu Crimson
 
Chalk it up to recency bias or not having really thought about Ryuu in a while but I would say that Ryuu would probably rank the lowest in terms of skill out of my players. Don’t get me wrong, I will love Ryuu for being my first player and having the most un-Asian last name ever for an Asian (I am an Asian, don’t worry), but it makes sense that my first ever experiment would be my least skilled player. Solid scorer but in reality was a consistent second-liner and a fringe top liner at best. Never scored under 20 goals but pretty much hovered around that 20-30 goal range except for two seasons. He was definitely far from horrible but was definitely not my best work. Still though, lots of great memories; Davos was a great team to play in, winning the championship with Riga in my rookie season was amazing, and also getting the Daisuke Kanou that year alongside Stropko was really cool. Unless I am mistaken, Ryuu Crimson remains the only rookie to win the Daisuke Kanou. If I am mistaken, then Ryuu Crimson was the first to win it as a rookie. Before you note that his stats are very similar to Sigard Petrenko and that it seems to make little sense that I consider Ryuu a consistent second-liner/fringe top liner, remember that this was during the S60s. During those seasons, scoring was a LOT higher and point totals felt like they were skyrocketing and this was before people learned to spam SC. Though, obviously, bonus points for the fact that there was a good period of time that he just fought a lot for some reason. Man was an absolute goon (I call him that in the most affectionate way possible) for some reason for a good bit.
 
Second Place: Sigard Petrenko
 
How suspenseful. Second player in and we already have the answer for number one. Out of three, Sigard was the player who I feel like mostly fulfilled my expectations. I wanted to make a winger who could hit and score. A power forward who could put in the net but also put in work off the puck. His shooting percentage might be terrible and he definitely had a notable amount of penalties but he still got goals, had a really solid plus/minus rating (as flawed of a stat it is), consistently scored around 30 goals during the second half of his career, and could also hit. A lot. Sigard Petrenko is (as of writing this) top 5 in terms of Seattle Bears players when it comes to the number of hits. Sigard was also a playoff performer; he currently ranks second in Bears career playoff goals just behind Timothy Brown. I think that I was able to balance Petrenko’s physicality and defensive solidness with the ability to score. There was a time I was questioning whether I should switch him to the blueline but there was never really an organizational need and Petrenko was succeeding so I didn’t go through with it. It also helps that Sigard had an excellent team around him. I mean, the Bears roster was excellent. Definitely had a lot of fun in the locker room. I also remember Petrenko’s time with the Mississauga Hounds and just what a great season that was. Also, one last fun fact about Sigard Petrenko; his first name was taken from Sigard Gunnar; a teammate of mine when Jacques Lafontaine was on the scene. Now that Lafontaine has been mentioned, it is time to talk about the best player I created.
 
First Place: Raimo Tuominen
 
So Raimo is shaping up to be the-
 
Okay, sorry, I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself. Here’s the actual first place player in my eyes.
 
First Place: Jacques Lafontaine
 
So much happened with Lafontaine. It was a roller coaster with him as my player. First of all, there was the amazing Saskatoon Wild team that dominated and had that historic season in the VHLM in S69 in which Lafontaine was carried by an excellent squad to a Founder’s Cup Championship. Still got the Benoit Devereux somehow. Also won the Skylar Rift trophy. Funnily enough, I’d replace a “Rift” when Lafontaine took over the starting role after backing up JB Rift in his rookie season. For some reason, whenever I think about that team, I can’t help but think about Danny DeYeeto even though we had so many great players on that team. But regardless, that was an amazing season to be a part of. Then there was the whole debate on whether or not Hextall or Lafontaine should get ROTY just for neither to win it. Then there was the whole three-way rivalry between Spyro, Hextall, and myself. Then there’s winning two Clegane trophies, getting two Victory Cups, and then always muttering curses under my breath every time Seattle eliminated us before I eventually had Petrenko go there. Jacques Lafontaine, while a bit overrated, is still one of my favourite players and probably the single greatest player out of the three I have made so far.
 
1068 words; will claim for two weeks.

1. My favourite part of the VHL off-season is the WJC/WC because if I am selected, I get an early look at how I could improve my player. Tied with that is the Training Camp because I get me some sweet sweet TPE.
2. Waiting for the season to start. I mean, it's obviously not too long but I'm still very excited to get underway.
3. Raimo has been touring Calgary, getting used to the life, rented a room at Randy Bobandy's place, and even got to meet Jacques Lafontaine (more on that last one next week)
4. Raimo wants a Husky and wants to name it Harvey in reference to Harvey the Hound. He does not really understand that a Hound and Husky are not the same, but he's got the spirit.
5. Bad. I am a Flames fan. Good thing our team sucks because their losing will force the rebuild that management is too scared to do. Celebrini season!
6. Send down Oesterle and Hunt, call up Klapka and Zary.

This is a very objective list where my opinion is the law and everything else is untrue. Jokes aside, this is based on my opinion and is no way supposed to be set in stone. This is not based on my enjoyment of being the player but based on how “skilled” I would consider them. Besides, all of my past players were a bit mid anyway and the order is actually quite obvious now that I think about it. But because I can’t get enough of being a narcissist, let’s talk about my players! I have had only three players and Raimo is my fourth player so I don’t have as extensive of a list as others may have but I remember having a lot of fun with all three. I guess you can say I have a bit of an archetype as I have had two forwards and one goalie, with Raimo being the third forward. Maybe I should consider spicing it up in the future. Regardless, I will be ranking these three players; making for a really short ranking but it also means I can say a lot about what I think about these three players. Without a further ado, here is the ranking starting from lowest ranked to highest ranked.
 
Third Place: Ryuu Crimson
 
Chalk it up to recency bias or not having really thought about Ryuu in a while but I would say that Ryuu would probably rank the lowest in terms of skill out of my players. Don’t get me wrong, I will love Ryuu for being my first player and having the most un-Asian last name ever for an Asian (I am an Asian, don’t worry), but it makes sense that my first ever experiment would be my least skilled player. Solid scorer but in reality was a consistent second-liner and a fringe top liner at best. Never scored under 20 goals but pretty much hovered around that 20-30 goal range except for two seasons. He was definitely far from horrible but was definitely not my best work. Still though, lots of great memories; Davos was a great team to play in, winning the championship with Riga in my rookie season was amazing, and also getting the Daisuke Kanou that year alongside Stropko was really cool. Unless I am mistaken, Ryuu Crimson remains the only rookie to win the Daisuke Kanou. If I am mistaken, then Ryuu Crimson was the first to win it as a rookie. Before you note that his stats are very similar to Sigard Petrenko and that it seems to make little sense that I consider Ryuu a consistent second-liner/fringe top liner, remember that this was during the S60s. During those seasons, scoring was a LOT higher and point totals felt like they were skyrocketing and this was before people learned to spam SC. Though, obviously, bonus points for the fact that there was a good period of time that he just fought a lot for some reason. Man was an absolute goon (I call him that in the most affectionate way possible) for some reason for a good bit.
 
Second Place: Sigard Petrenko
 
How suspenseful. Second player in and we already have the answer for number one. Out of three, Sigard was the player who I feel like mostly fulfilled my expectations. I wanted to make a winger who could hit and score. A power forward who could put in the net but also put in work off the puck. His shooting percentage might be terrible and he definitely had a notable amount of penalties but he still got goals, had a really solid plus/minus rating (as flawed of a stat it is), consistently scored around 30 goals during the second half of his career, and could also hit. A lot. Sigard Petrenko is (as of writing this) top 5 in terms of Seattle Bears players when it comes to the number of hits. Sigard was also a playoff performer; he currently ranks second in Bears career playoff goals just behind Timothy Brown. I think that I was able to balance Petrenko’s physicality and defensive solidness with the ability to score. There was a time I was questioning whether I should switch him to the blueline but there was never really an organizational need and Petrenko was succeeding so I didn’t go through with it. It also helps that Sigard had an excellent team around him. I mean, the Bears roster was excellent. Definitely had a lot of fun in the locker room. I also remember Petrenko’s time with the Mississauga Hounds and just what a great season that was. Also, one last fun fact about Sigard Petrenko; his first name was taken from Sigard Gunnar; a teammate of mine when Jacques Lafontaine was on the scene. Now that Lafontaine has been mentioned, it is time to talk about the best player I created.
 
First Place: Raimo Tuominen
 
So Raimo is shaping up to be the-
 
Okay, sorry, I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself. Here’s the actual first place player in my eyes.
 
First Place: Jacques Lafontaine
 
So much happened with Lafontaine. It was a roller coaster with him as my player. First of all, there was the amazing Saskatoon Wild team that dominated and had that historic season in the VHLM in S69 in which Lafontaine was carried by an excellent squad to a Founder’s Cup Championship. Still got the Benoit Devereux somehow. Also won the Skylar Rift trophy. Funnily enough, I’d replace a “Rift” when Lafontaine took over the starting role after backing up JB Rift in his rookie season. For some reason, whenever I think about that team, I can’t help but think about Danny DeYeeto even though we had so many great players on that team. But regardless, that was an amazing season to be a part of. Then there was the whole debate on whether or not Hextall or Lafontaine should get ROTY just for neither to win it. Then there was the whole three-way rivalry between Spyro, Hextall, and myself. Then there’s winning two Clegane trophies, getting two Victory Cups, and then always muttering curses under my breath every time Seattle eliminated us before I eventually had Petrenko go there. Jacques Lafontaine, while a bit overrated, is still one of my favourite players and probably the single greatest player out of the three I have made so far.
 
1068 words; will claim for two weeks.

This is a very objective list where my opinion is the law and everything else is untrue. Jokes aside, this is based on my opinion and is no way supposed to be set in stone. This is not based on my enjoyment of being the player but based on how “skilled” I would consider them. Besides, all of my past players were a bit mid anyway and the order is actually quite obvious now that I think about it. But because I can’t get enough of being a narcissist, let’s talk about my players! I have had only three players and Raimo is my fourth player so I don’t have as extensive of a list as others may have but I remember having a lot of fun with all three. I guess you can say I have a bit of an archetype as I have had two forwards and one goalie, with Raimo being the third forward. Maybe I should consider spicing it up in the future. Regardless, I will be ranking these three players; making for a really short ranking but it also means I can say a lot about what I think about these three players. Without a further ado, here is the ranking starting from lowest ranked to highest ranked.
 
Third Place: Ryuu Crimson
 
Chalk it up to recency bias or not having really thought about Ryuu in a while but I would say that Ryuu would probably rank the lowest in terms of skill out of my players. Don’t get me wrong, I will love Ryuu for being my first player and having the most un-Asian last name ever for an Asian (I am an Asian, don’t worry), but it makes sense that my first ever experiment would be my least skilled player. Solid scorer but in reality was a consistent second-liner and a fringe top liner at best. Never scored under 20 goals but pretty much hovered around that 20-30 goal range except for two seasons. He was definitely far from horrible but was definitely not my best work. Still though, lots of great memories; Davos was a great team to play in, winning the championship with Riga in my rookie season was amazing, and also getting the Daisuke Kanou that year alongside Stropko was really cool. Unless I am mistaken, Ryuu Crimson remains the only rookie to win the Daisuke Kanou. If I am mistaken, then Ryuu Crimson was the first to win it as a rookie. Before you note that his stats are very similar to Sigard Petrenko and that it seems to make little sense that I consider Ryuu a consistent second-liner/fringe top liner, remember that this was during the S60s. During those seasons, scoring was a LOT higher and point totals felt like they were skyrocketing and this was before people learned to spam SC. Though, obviously, bonus points for the fact that there was a good period of time that he just fought a lot for some reason. Man was an absolute goon (I call him that in the most affectionate way possible) for some reason for a good bit.
 
Second Place: Sigard Petrenko
 
How suspenseful. Second player in and we already have the answer for number one. Out of three, Sigard was the player who I feel like mostly fulfilled my expectations. I wanted to make a winger who could hit and score. A power forward who could put in the net but also put in work off the puck. His shooting percentage might be terrible and he definitely had a notable amount of penalties but he still got goals, had a really solid plus/minus rating (as flawed of a stat it is), consistently scored around 30 goals during the second half of his career, and could also hit. A lot. Sigard Petrenko is (as of writing this) top 5 in terms of Seattle Bears players when it comes to the number of hits. Sigard was also a playoff performer; he currently ranks second in Bears career playoff goals just behind Timothy Brown. I think that I was able to balance Petrenko’s physicality and defensive solidness with the ability to score. There was a time I was questioning whether I should switch him to the blueline but there was never really an organizational need and Petrenko was succeeding so I didn’t go through with it. It also helps that Sigard had an excellent team around him. I mean, the Bears roster was excellent. Definitely had a lot of fun in the locker room. I also remember Petrenko’s time with the Mississauga Hounds and just what a great season that was. Also, one last fun fact about Sigard Petrenko; his first name was taken from Sigard Gunnar; a teammate of mine when Jacques Lafontaine was on the scene. Now that Lafontaine has been mentioned, it is time to talk about the best player I created.
 
First Place: Raimo Tuominen
 
So Raimo is shaping up to be the-
 
Okay, sorry, I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself. Here’s the actual first place player in my eyes.
 
First Place: Jacques Lafontaine
 
So much happened with Lafontaine. It was a roller coaster with him as my player. First of all, there was the amazing Saskatoon Wild team that dominated and had that historic season in the VHLM in S69 in which Lafontaine was carried by an excellent squad to a Founder’s Cup Championship. Still got the Benoit Devereux somehow. Also won the Skylar Rift trophy. Funnily enough, I’d replace a “Rift” when Lafontaine took over the starting role after backing up JB Rift in his rookie season. For some reason, whenever I think about that team, I can’t help but think about Danny DeYeeto even though we had so many great players on that team. But regardless, that was an amazing season to be a part of. Then there was the whole debate on whether or not Hextall or Lafontaine should get ROTY just for neither to win it. Then there was the whole three-way rivalry between Spyro, Hextall, and myself. Then there’s winning two Clegane trophies, getting two Victory Cups, and then always muttering curses under my breath every time Seattle eliminated us before I eventually had Petrenko go there. Jacques Lafontaine, while a bit overrated, is still one of my favourite players and probably the single greatest player out of the three I have made so far.
 
1068 words; will claim for two weeks.

SEATTLE - The Bears have had many players don their jersey. Many superstars, icons, and VHL legends have had the privilege of representing the Emerald City. Sigard Petrenko does not consider himself one of them. However, he has many great memories here. He won a continental cup with Seattle, was given the honour of being the captain for his last season, and the Seattle Bears faithful got used to seeing Sigard laying a hard hit on opponents. The official count says 1369 in 432 games played.
 
“They might have missed a couple,” he joked as he was interviewed in the Seattle Thunderbirds locker room.
 
Some eagle-eyed readers (okay, probably most of you to be completely honest) might have noticed the “Seattle Thunderbirds” portion of that last sentence. That is because Sigard is in the city of Kent taking up a job as an assistant coach for the Thunderbirds.
 
“After I retired from the VHL, I played for three seasons in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres. I actually did pretty well; scored 20 goals in all three of those seasons. Eventually though, my body couldn’t keep up and I had to retire a bit early. It sucked but I ended up being really interested in coaching. It’s kind of weird considering I’m pretty young compared to some of these coaches but they trust me. I can teach some of these guys how to hit hard and that’s exactly what I plan on doing.

This is a very objective list where my opinion is the law and everything else is untrue. Jokes aside, this is based on my opinion and is no way supposed to be set in stone. This is not based on my enjoyment of being the player but based on how “skilled” I would consider them. Besides, all of my past players were a bit mid anyway and the order is actually quite obvious now that I think about it. But because I can’t get enough of being a narcissist, let’s talk about my players! I have had only three players and Raimo is my fourth player so I don’t have as extensive of a list as others may have but I remember having a lot of fun with all three. I guess you can say I have a bit of an archetype as I have had two forwards and one goalie, with Raimo being the third forward. Maybe I should consider spicing it up in the future. Regardless, I will be ranking these three players; making for a really short ranking but it also means I can say a lot about what I think about these three players. Without a further ado, here is the ranking starting from lowest ranked to highest ranked.
 
Third Place: Ryuu Crimson
 
Chalk it up to recency bias or not having really thought about Ryuu in a while but I would say that Ryuu would probably rank the lowest in terms of skill out of my players. Don’t get me wrong, I will love Ryuu for being my first player and having the most un-Asian last name ever for an Asian (I am an Asian, don’t worry), but it makes sense that my first ever experiment would be my least skilled player. Solid scorer but in reality was a consistent second-liner and a fringe top liner at best. Never scored under 20 goals but pretty much hovered around that 20-30 goal range except for two seasons. He was definitely far from horrible but was definitely not my best work. Still though, lots of great memories; Davos was a great team to play in, winning the championship with Riga in my rookie season was amazing, and also getting the Daisuke Kanou that year alongside Stropko was really cool. Unless I am mistaken, Ryuu Crimson remains the only rookie to win the Daisuke Kanou. If I am mistaken, then Ryuu Crimson was the first to win it as a rookie. Before you note that his stats are very similar to Sigard Petrenko and that it seems to make little sense that I consider Ryuu a consistent second-liner/fringe top liner, remember that this was during the S60s. During those seasons, scoring was a LOT higher and point totals felt like they were skyrocketing and this was before people learned to spam SC. Though, obviously, bonus points for the fact that there was a good period of time that he just fought a lot for some reason. Man was an absolute goon (I call him that in the most affectionate way possible) for some reason for a good bit.
 
Second Place: Sigard Petrenko
 
How suspenseful. Second player in and we already have the answer for number one. Out of three, Sigard was the player who I feel like mostly fulfilled my expectations. I wanted to make a winger who could hit and score. A power forward who could put in the net but also put in work off the puck. His shooting percentage might be terrible and he definitely had a notable amount of penalties but he still got goals, had a really solid plus/minus rating (as flawed of a stat it is), consistently scored around 30 goals during the second half of his career, and could also hit. A lot. Sigard Petrenko is (as of writing this) top 5 in terms of Seattle Bears players when it comes to the number of hits. Sigard was also a playoff performer; he currently ranks second in Bears career playoff goals just behind Timothy Brown. I think that I was able to balance Petrenko’s physicality and defensive solidness with the ability to score. There was a time I was questioning whether I should switch him to the blueline but there was never really an organizational need and Petrenko was succeeding so I didn’t go through with it. It also helps that Sigard had an excellent team around him. I mean, the Bears roster was excellent. Definitely had a lot of fun in the locker room. I also remember Petrenko’s time with the Mississauga Hounds and just what a great season that was. Also, one last fun fact about Sigard Petrenko; his first name was taken from Sigard Gunnar; a teammate of mine when Jacques Lafontaine was on the scene. Now that Lafontaine has been mentioned, it is time to talk about the best player I created.
 
First Place: Raimo Tuominen
 
So Raimo is shaping up to be the-
 
Okay, sorry, I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself. Here’s the actual first place player in my eyes.
 
First Place: Jacques Lafontaine
 
So much happened with Lafontaine. It was a roller coaster with him as my player. First of all, there was the amazing Saskatoon Wild team that dominated and had that historic season in the VHLM in S69 in which Lafontaine was carried by an excellent squad to a Founder’s Cup Championship. Still got the Benoit Devereux somehow. Also won the Skylar Rift trophy. Funnily enough, I’d replace a “Rift” when Lafontaine took over the starting role after backing up JB Rift in his rookie season. For some reason, whenever I think about that team, I can’t help but think about Danny DeYeeto even though we had so many great players on that team. But regardless, that was an amazing season to be a part of. Then there was the whole debate on whether or not Hextall or Lafontaine should get ROTY just for neither to win it. Then there was the whole three-way rivalry between Spyro, Hextall, and myself. Then there’s winning two Clegane trophies, getting two Victory Cups, and then always muttering curses under my breath every time Seattle eliminated us before I eventually had Petrenko go there. Jacques Lafontaine, while a bit overrated, is still one of my favourite players and probably the single greatest player out of the three I have made so far.
 
1068 words; will claim for two weeks.

Such great work, thank you so much for taking the time to make a graphic of Catia, I really appreciate it! 

@cLoWn

S90 Calgary Wranglers Captains
 
Assistant Captain: AirRig GoodBrandSun @Rhynex Entertainment
 
Calgary legend AirRig GoodBrandSun is back in his final season in a place he used to call home. Clearly he is still beloved and respected by the Wranglers organization as he gets voted on to the be the Assistant Captain. I’m excited to see him lead the team in his swan song season. 
 
Assistant Captain: Malum Maellard @frescoelmo

Veteran defender Malum Maellard has joined the Wranglers back end for his final two seasons. He’s made an immediate impact in the locker room and has been chosen by his team to be an Assistant Captain.
 
Assistant Captain: Randy Bobandy @AJW
 
For the first time in GM Rices’ career he has announced a third Assistant Captain. Randy Bobandy will be leading the charge for the forwards this season and has also made an immediate impact with his new team this season. We are very excited to see what he can do for Calgary this season.
 
Captain: @Phil Phil Strasmore
 
He’s back! Captain Strasmore will retain his title as Captain next season. He did an amazing job leading this team through a tough season and will get a chance to lead a much more competitive roster in S91. 
 
Congrats to our captaincy group for season 91. Let’s go show this league what the Wranglers are all about. 

Calgary Wrangler's S90 Team Awards
 
We are back! Gettin' them done before the next season begins. Season 90 was an anomaly for the Wranglers as they took a step back in order to rebuild the system. They have coined the term "Losing Sucks" and are ready to turn the ship around for S91. Let's have a look back at last season and hand out some awards for the player's hard work.
 
DJ Badge (Leadership)

The Daniel Janser Badge is given to the player/s that exemplify the best leadership qualities over the course of a season. A few players stood out last season as leaders for this group through a tough season and deserve to have earned this award. Congratulations to Phil Strasmore @Phil and Fradin McGryer @Fradin99 on being our co-winners of the DJ Badge.
 
Jubis Memorial Trophy (Long-Term Success)
 
This award is given to the player who demonstrates the potential to have long-term success as a member of this league. This player went through his fair share of personal issues this season and even through it all has managed to stay active in this league. If he can continue on this path I have no doubt that he will be a mainstay for seasons to come. Congratulations to Fradin McGryer @Fradin99 on winning this award. 
 
Young Buck Award (Top Prospect)
 
We like to shine a light on our players as well as our prospects each season. One player stuck out above the rest and had an exceptional season down in the VHLE. He has continued to put in the work and will be a mainstay in Calgary as he moves up to eventually take the role as our number one centreman. For his hard work and dedication, Raimo Tuomenin @SlapshotWrangler is our Young Buck Award winner!
 
Last Line Award (Top Defenseman)

This award is handed out to the top defensemen over the course of a regular season. This defensemen played in every situation and was not only the best defensemen but the best skater for our team last season. Congratulations to Phil Strasmore @Phil on winning the Last Line Award.
 
Top Shelf Award (Goals Leader)
 
Two players are the winners of the Top Shelf Award for S90. Both players came into the season playing their first with Calgary and one of them was a rookie for our squad. They each scored 24 goals to earn themselves this award. Congratulations to Steve Lattimer @pugsood and Zac Martinez @Sam_19.
 
Rybak Trophy (Points Leader)
 
We had one player lead the team in points last season and he did so with 60 points. This is very good seeing as how we had a very down season. He did have a new career high in goals scored with 13. Congratulations Phil Strasmore @Phil on winning the Rybak Trophy.

The Most Valuable Wrangler
 
There is one player on this team that stands above the rest. He did everything in his power to ruin the tank. He set new career bests in save percentage (.928) and goals against average (2.7) even though the team has been its worst since he's been a part of it. We are looking forward to seeing what he can do with a contending roster in front of him next season. Congratulations to Merome Dilson @MexicanCow123on being the Most Valuable Wrangler.
 
Thats all for our season 90 awards. We are very excited to have turned this ship around and are looking forward to who will be fighting for these awards next season.