But in all seriousness, I just want to start off by saying thank you, to every single person who put their faith in me over the last year and a bit to lead a team in the VHLM. I was very blessed to get a team, as my name wasn’t great around the league after a super long hiatus, and I know I pushed a lot of people’s buttons along the way, it wasn’t until recently, the last season or two of my GMing career that I changed my ways to showcase how I can truly be, and my personality, etc.
So how did we get here? Well… let’s hop back to the end of the S65 season when the VHLM commissioners (at the time) Bana & D_A made the decision after league approval for expansion. At the time I was an AGM with Josh in Yukon and had been for going on two seasons. I’m not sure if Josh ever mentioned my name when they were looking for GMs but I put my name in the hat, and instantly messaged D_A since I was familiar with him and had a super long chat. One thing led to another, and then it was finally announced that there were 3 teams joining the league, Mexico, San Diego and Mississauga. Mexico and Mississauga were filled and I remember laughing when D_A told me “no one likes San Diego’s logo, it’s their third choice for a team, would you be okay with them?”. I was just grateful to be getting a team, so absolutely I took it. Fast forward a bit more, and we ended up at the expansion draft.
EXPANSION DRAFT:
2nd round pick (LVA) – turned into Birdman (Samuel Sparrow, 183 TPE IA defender, retired)
3rd round pick (YUK) – turned into Big_Mac (Andrei Mikhailov, 195 TPE IA forward, retired)
4th round pick S67 (OTT) – will be mentioned in the S67 breakdown
Overall, that season we had two guys who made competing possible, based on all of our other picks we had gathered through trades and such, it seemed pretty promising. After the initial expansion, I was a part of the next 9 drafts, which were amazing, and I just want to thank…a lot of people for making it memorable, so here comes the tags (sorry!).
S66 Draft:
Phil Marleau @Phil
Edgar Tannahill @gregreg
Greg Eagles @Greg_Di
Samuel Sparrow @Birdman
Andrei Mikhailov @Big Mac
Dean Clarke @Kyle
Scotty BigShotty @FerdaJets
Ludvig Sederstrom @aleks
This was the first ever team iced for San Diego. @Phil was the first ever Marlins selection with the 5th overall pick and made history with the franchise and the league as such. This inaugural team would finish 7th in the league (no divisions yet) with 84 points and a record of 40-28-4 and 84 points to our name. We would go on to be swept in the quarter finals by the Halifax 21st but nevertheless, we made the playoffs in our first season and from this crop, 6 would make it to the VHL, a very high retainment rate long-term.
S67 Draft:
NO ONE
Yeah so...year two was kind of nuts. After decided to just go balls to the wall and draft everyone in our inaugural year, we ended up having 0 picks in the S67 draft. Now, most people thought to count this team out, but we were far from it. Instead, we would again finish in the 7th spot in the league (still no divisions) with a record of 26-38-8 and 60 points. We would however be swept again in the quarter finals, this time by the Philadelphia Reapers. From this roster, a total of 7 players would make it to the VHL, and despite no draft picks, that was a huge outcome for the team, as this means it was all through recruiting.
S68 Draft:
Chad Gilbert @Fire_In_Babylon
Will Clarke @Will
Marcus Nygren @Devise
Raleigh Ritchie @DangerGolding
Daldo @Harpskii
King Kruul @LefLop
Richard Fitzwell @Tomato Soup
A fairly deep draft left San Diego poised and ready to compete for the third straight year in a row. While it wasn't going to be easy, San Diego did their best to come together and in doing so, managed to once again clinch a playoff birth. For the third straight season, they would finish 7th in the league, a record of 38-31-3 and 79 points. Just like deja-vu, the team would be knocked out again in the quarter finals, but this time they actually won 2 games, going out in 6 to the Las Vegas Aces. Every single pick from this draft class would move on to the VHL level in some degree, thus making it the best recruiting/draft class San Diego has ever had.
S69 Draft:
NO ONE
So seemingly like a pattern, every other year thus far, we've drafted no one. But did we learn from the mistake of counting out San Diego despite no draft? Noooo, we were once again poised to suck and written off by many... instead, we'd make the playoffs again. Unfortunately the index for the regular season is broken, and the portal doesn't go back this far, but I can say we got the 6th seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately again, for the fourth straight year, we'd be eliminated in the quarter finals, this time only in 5 games to the Mexico City Kings. The team would have an undisclosed amount of players go to the VHL (fuck the broken index lol).
S70 Draft:
Kyl Oferson @Nykonax
Roque Davis @Josh
Thomas Landry II @Doomsday
Ike Bennett @Caboose30
JaredN @jared
Nikita Kulikovich @Lockdown Defense
Dax Lewis (user no longer exists)
This draft was super top-heavy, and it was no surprise that San Diego once again wanted to compete, and compete we did. This was our best season thus far, 5 seasons in and we have now amassed a 2nd place finish in the league (still... no divisions lol) with a record of 58-10-4 and 104 points. The team finally made it out of the quarterfinals with a sweep to Yukon but sadly were sent packing by Ottawa Lynx who eventually lost the cup to Minnesota. Every single player on this list made it to the VHL, most of them have since retired and recreated.
Yeah, on the forefront of this draft...and this season, I wish I could forget it haha. Not for the team, just for all the drama and shit I caused and just the shit in general, was not a fun a season for me, I was half-tempted just to leave the team cause I didn't wanna deal with the drama, but alas here we are. The team added a ton of huge pieces via trades and waivers and as such, actually had a pretty damn good year, finishing 6th in the league (3rd in their division!) with a record of 42-28-2 and 86 points. The team would once again go to the semi finals, this time being eliminated by the Ottawa Lynx who would actually go on to win the cup finally. From this crop, 4 players would go on to make it to the VHL.
S72 Draft:
NO ONE
So that trend seems to continue, draft a lot of players, draft a few players, draft no players. Now, it's worked out in the past right so you'd think "oh, IR has this, no big deal". WRONG. This truly was a down year for us as we finished 11th in the league (last in the division) with a record of 10-60-2 and 22 points, this was an all-time low for the team and the first time we did not qualify for the playoffs. No one from this team would go on to make a VHL team.
S73 Draft:
John Merrick @Steve
John LeClair II @flyersfan1453
Ryan Schwarz @Enorama
Doug Dimmadome @Esso2264
Lucifer Olivier Leveque @InstantRockstar
Lester Green @Smarch
Bjorn Wilhelm von Luxembourg @d3vilsfire
Calvin Harvey (MrPenguin)
Nathaniel N @NathanN
Logan Hoffman @nickthe00
Some steals in this draft really made the Marlins this year super deep. One of the strongest teams since S70 in my personal opinion and just an excellent crop of guys to have in the locker room. The team would end up finishing 5th in the league (2nd in division) with a record of 51-19-2 and 104 points. Once again the team would make it to the semi finals, but lose to the Miami Marauders. Every single player from the draft this year made it to the VHL.
S74 Draft:
NO ONE
With this draft, we didn't pick anyone. As we've seen in the past, this was either going to go good...or bad. And unfortunately, it went quite bad. While we had some excellent waiver pickups, the lack of pick-ups really ended up hurting us and because of that, we had our worse season yet... finishing 11th place (last in division) with a record of 9-58-5 and 23 points. For obvious reasons again, we did not make the playoffs and due to our team being mainly recruits and IA's, we had no one go up to the VHL.
S75 Draft:
Cowboy Prout @Cowboy
Scotty Kaberle @fromtheinside
Nero Endrizzi @TurnDaddy
Red Lite @Tate
Nikolas DAndrea @Nikdandrea34
Frank Funk Jr @Rayzor_7
Gunnar Odinsson @BOOM
Kaladin Kvothe @DangerGolding
Phil The Rock Johnson @Phil
Jaroslav Petr
Patrik Ipsen @BiPsen
And here we are...present day. This draft...was the deepest I've seen in 10 seasons, deeper than the S68 draft which I felt was quite deep with talent. Tag on that we added some amazing key waivers in @Mr_Hatterand @OrbitingDeath and we had one of the most solid on-ice teams at least in my mind. There was a ton of terrifying teams this season as proven with Mexico and Philadelphia, that being said we still managed to end up 3rd in the league (2nd in division) with a record of 51-19-2 and 104 points. Unfortunately the pipe dream of winning a cup was once again destroyed when Philadelphia knocked us out in the semi's once again. 9 of my players will appear in the VHL next season.
So to recap...
8 playoff appearances in 10 seasons
0 cups.
38 VHL produced players (retainment of 96% players who crossed through SDM)
And why am I telling you this? Well... as the title says, the run has finally come to an end, and this is indeed my final curtain call as the San Diego Marlins GM. After 10 long seasons, I am officially stepping down as the GM. I want to again thank everyone who made this dream possible, I want to especially thank every single amazing player who came into our LR and made it what it was season after season, and most importantly I want to thank the VHL for giving me a chance to be a GM in the M, for believing in me even when I was a little shit, and for allowing me to continue to keep this place going by retaining our damn fine members.
I can only hope the future is bright here, but for now, catch LOL making jokes on the ice with the Seattle Bears for the foreseeable future.
It's an exciting time in the VHLM and all the hard work earning TPE has paid off for most of the league, even if it's an early exit. For the 4 teams and 75 players eliminated their season ends today and next season is already on their minds.. Here's a list of the best competition we won't see in the highlights
1. The doubled headed Bull in Houston
Artem Tretiak @Molholt 210 TPE
*2nd in save percentage
*4th in goals against average
Kunibuni UnGuru @Berocka 196 TPE
*6th in save percentage
2. Fitzwell's rock solid defense
Richard Fitzwell @Tomato Soup 236 TPE
*1st in hits
*6th in shots blocked
3. C.W. and his G.W. attitude
Carson Walkers @Cwalker186 TPE
*2nd in shorthanded goals
*2nd in game winners
*8th in hits
4. Shooting threat from Philly
Darius Marimoto @dariusmarimotoman185 TPE
*7th in shots
5. A ready goaltender waiting for a test
Jacon Carson @jacobcarson877191 TPE
*2nd in shutouts
*8th in wins
6. Minute hound Cloudera and his beastmode tendencies
Yuuto Kira Cloudera @kentakira 166 TPE
*1st in shots blocked
*2nd in shorthanded goals
7. Philadelphia's secret weapon, sorry now everybody knows..
Shawn Andrei Zyuzin @TheLastOlympian07155
TPE
*5th in hits
8. The top shelf catcher
Michael Fletcher @DragonFire420131 TPE
*4th in assists
*6th in shutouts
Maybe some of these guys could have been an asset if dealt before the trade deadline, who knows. Don't get down if your team didn't advance, time flies and there's tons of other achievements!
Years from now, season 69 of the VHLM is likely to be remembered for one thing, Saskatoon. The lasting story will be Saskatoon’s dominance and eventual championship or demise. I hope the annals of time do not forget the S69 Philadelphia Reapers, a team of unsung heroes. Philadelphia had 9 players score 48 or more points this season, yet none of the players cracked the top 20 in total points in the league. The lack of superstars is now a point of pride for the Reapers. The team plays best when the focus is on the team. Players are supporting each other, not looking out for individual accolades. That team-first attitude has led to a strong season for the Reapers. They finished the regular season with a 47-21-4 record good for 98 points and 4th place. They scored the 4th most goals for, with 251.
I’m going to highlight some of the unsung heroes on the team:
- Bud Knight - @Dilly Dilly – Maybe the least unsung of the heroes on the team. But that’s only because he’s a national TV star. Knight has been a staple on the Reapers for the last couple of seasons. He really stepped up this year to lead the team in most statistical categories. On top of that, he’s a great guy that has fought through tough times to be a true leader.
- Ben McGirr - @cartoes – Due to some paperwork error. McGirr has never been drafted by a VHLM team. He was happy to sign with the Reapers as a free agent for the past 2 seasons. His consistent, hard-working practice routine has paid dividends this year as he scored more than 30 points more than last season.
- Kyle Andersen - @Cusemode – 1 of only 3 active players drafted in the S69 3rd round or later. Andersen has had a monster rookie season in the VHLM. His 65 points and +33 rating have to put him in the conversation for steal of the draft. He shows up to work hard every day and it shows, night in and night out on the ice.
- Derek Eriksson - @DirtyDerek – Derek appeared shortly after the S69 draft and signed with the Reapers because he knew Kyle Andersen from their days in juniors. What a gem of a player this guy is. 55 points without even playing in the first 10 games. He’s worked hard on his game this year and is primed for a fantastic S70 on whatever team is lucky enough to draft him.
- Griff Manzer - @Garsh – A stalwart on the Reaper blue line. Griff has shown he believes in the Reaper way of life right from the get go. He plays fast, hard, and nasty. This season he really showed he puts the team first by amassing 55 assists! His true unsung hero value is in the locker room. Griff is always working behind the scenes to help players new to the team. He rarely gets the credit he deserves. His effort is greatly appreciated.
- Richard Fitzwell - @Tomato Soup – Fitzwell and Manzer are perfect blue line partners because they are cut from the same cloth. Dick’s shown he bleeds Reaper blood from day one. He led the team in hits and was 2nd in blocked shots. Those are the stats of an unsung hero.
- Jack Feriancek - @Jackie4967 – Another great waiver signing this season, while Jack may not have the stats of some of the other players in this list. He’s shown he’s a passionate player who has his best seasons ahead of him. His curiosity and excitement about the league are a huge asset which will propel him to greatness.
Being the GM of players like these is a true joy and I can’t thank the people listed here and all the other Reaper players enough for being such great people.
As a new retention initiative, The Recruitment Team has implemented a personalized player graphic that will be rewarded to players who reach certain benchmarks. This will be available to all players even recreates. We will start this with all Season 69 players, and beyond.
Player Card - 100 TPE
When you reach 100 TPE you will be rewarded with a player card. This will include your player name, a render of your choice and few statistics about your player in their VHLM career. Please see below as to how to claim.
Signature - 150 TPE
When you reach 150 TPE you will be rewarded with a player signature. This is a customized graphic which will be tailored to your player and you will be able to wear proudly on the forum - it will appear under each of your posts and help promote and identify who your player is! Please see below as to hot to claim.
How to Claim
A claim thread can be located here: S69 CLAIM THREAD Please post there using the template and you will be placed into queue. The wait time will vary depending on how many people are on the list. If you are a Season 70 player use the S70 CLAIM THREAD
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Tomato Soup reacted to InstantRockstar in The Final Curtain Call - The End of an Era
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