Squids McKenzie

1) Picking up The Mediocre One has been money (on top of the recreates). Cole addressed the need of pure scorers and it’s really elevated everyone. With the depth, players can fill the role they are meant to and not be stretched so thin. That’s the making of an A-1 GM right there. 2) I’m gonna go with Skor. That eye test, his name’s always up there. The +14 and points totals say it all. 3) Blubeury McFleury 4) I expect to be popping champagne and getting that series win. Nothing wrong with a celebratory smoke, either. 5) Definitely excited, but can’t let the emotions get the best of you. Play harder. At the end of the day, it’s just another day at the office. Got ice in my veins. 6) Too easy. Gotta get on that baconator game. Ginger ale, please.

1. Recent trades have made an immediate success. What are our chances of advancing deep into the playoffs now? I like our chances. We had a real rough go of it at the start. We picked up some scoring at the deadline and it’s elevated the whole team. QSW has been racking up assists and we seem to be moving the puck significantly better. Pressure’s come off Swayman a bit having a legit backup and an offense to provide a buffer. 2. Have you ever suffered a concussion playing sports? Nope. Never a concussion (knock on wood). Broke my nose in a mosh pit before, though. 3. Jeremy Swayman has faced almost 1400 shots so far this season and he’s still standing. How resilient is he and how much of an impact is he having on Mexico City’s success? He’s faced quite a bunch of shots. His resilience is without question as he’s worked through some struggles this season. I’m sure the pressure’s been tough without a legit backup for the front half of the season. It was kill or be killed. 4. Have you welcomed our new players, The Mediocre One and Ross Glagau? Do you think they miss their old team and they are happy with the trade? I have, a little bit. Been on vacation, but look forward to talking some more now! I bet they do. I would’ve hated to leave Mexico, but I’ve seen them start to integrate pretty well. We have a stellar locker room that will welcome them with open arms. 5. If you could have one super power, what would it be? Student loan forgiveness. 6. What is your favorite cookie? Asking the hard hitting questions tonight. Personally, I’m a huge fan of fresh, hot red velvet crinkle cookies.

That would be huge. Tbh as a pretty new person I bookmarked the “How to Get TPE” post Ricer posted. I use the links in there to get to Media spots and graphics and the bread and butter of the forum. The forum isn’t great for new people — no shade to whoever set this up, I’m not a web designer and I know this stuff isn’t easy — as It’s daunting and filled with nested content within nested content.

1) Probably not. I used to play the hell out of sports games but they feel like they’re pushing out games with half-complete “story” modes now, with the exception of FIFA. 2) Uhhhh. I played the Nonogram game on my phone lmfao. Got my wife Dreamlight Valley for Switch and that’s been a lot of fun to watch. 3) Probs Legend of Zelda, either Majora’s Mask or Ocarina of Time for the N64. Rediscovered them back in March and it was a total blast. I try not to be nostalgic but when I fall, I fall hard 4) Quinn would 110% have a Chapstick and a HydroFlask sponsorship. Addicted and my HydroFlask doesn’t leave my side 5) Hands down, Jeremy Swayman. Those side profile drawings are flawless. 6) Negative. But croissants kick ass

Official Statement On Trade Rumors from the camp of Quinn Saint-Willes Earlier today, my teammate in Mexico City confirmed that the rumors have been true. There have been at least a few GMs enquiring about the likelihood of a trade. Like Womp said, GM Cole called us both in and gave us the rundown. Some mid-table teams were desperate for some defensive reinforcements to try and make a push. While my line mate gave a significantly more colorful presser than I — opting instead for a simple written statement — I share his feelings. I will not be leaving La Ciudad. Ultimately, I know Mexico City is not my forever home, but why would I want to cut my time here even shorter? Mexico City is one of the few teams to have recruited and held discussions with me, in earnest, leading up to the draft. This is a team that cared about my own personal goals. I made the jump from Brighton to play in North America to start my journey to the VHL. That’s a lot to uproot. I’m not about to uproot again to be a hired gun for a team that had no interest in scouting me from the jump. Additionally, I’m not going to uproot simply to be knackered in the first round of the playoffs. To be frank, that’s horrible business, on my part. This is a development league. Yes, winning is great. The stadium and the atmosphere and fans lighting up is what makes the game worth playing, but ultimately we are here to blossom into the players and people we want to become. The Kings prioritize me and my teammates; the family we’ve built in the locker room. Cole and the crew want to amplify our strengths, not fit us into whatever mold they need to win some hardware. If you develop properly, the hardware will come. That is what the M is about. That is what we're building here in Mexico City. !Viva la Ciudad! Estamos juntas. –– QSW ––

Week of Sept 25; final TPE claim — 4 of 4

1) Quinn’s fresh. She’s had some great all-around games but I think when she gets ghosty it has a big impact on the team. Going to continue focusing on DF/SK and then home PH/PA to get those playmaker abilities up. 2) I’m a defender. No such thing as decreasing value. 3) 7 square meals a day, each with a cocktail of gin and vodka cut with white rum. 4) Tonight. Bombest D core in the M. 5) Miami would be funny as hell. 6) Tough choice but think I gotta go with the classic Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers, especially those blue-pink ones. They beat more ass than Womp.

Hockey’s Back in CDMX! Meet Los Guardias Rojos ‘CDMX Tourism’, Squids McKenzie MEXICO CITY (MX) — Hockey is back in the Ciudad de los Palacios. The Kings look to follow their deep run from season 84 by bringing home the hardware in season 85. GM Coleh has taken diligent steps to balance the defence and offense, while returning last year’s back-up goaltender Jeremy Swayman to take over G1 duties. With all of the diligence paid on-ice and in the front office, the supporter section in Mexico City is making sure to bring the heat to visitors of El Palacio — sometimes literally. Los Guardias Rojos (Red Guards) bring a unique experience to hockey in Mexico City. More raucous than any other fandom in the VHLM, Guardias Rojas post up behind the visitor’s zone, causing trouble for opposing goaltender’s in the first and third. Sometimes, Los Rojos will even occupy standing room in the visitor’s zone in the second period. Vuvuzela blasts, stadium sing-alongs, pounding drums, and waving flags and banners are all a part of the Los Guardias Rojos experience. With big games, you can even catch Los Rojos with flares — safety concerns be damned. If you have the chance, catch a gameday at El Palacio. You won’t be sorry!

Now that I have my 100 TPE, let’s try this again +10 Quinn Saint-Willes

Sept 18 - Week 3 of 4, TPE claim

Fresh Cut Magazine, ‘Gamechangers’ Profile QUINN SAINT-WILLES Brighton, England #8, Defence || Mexico City Kings Fresh Cut Mag: Sitting down with us today we have Sussex County Sea Devils Defender and Elite Ice Hockey League Champion, Quinn Saint-Willes. Thanks so much for chatting with us! Quinn Saint-Willes: Of course, the pleasure’s all mine! Elated to have this chance. It’s been a truly incredible season. FCM: To say the least! [laughs] You set the EIHL on fire in your first full season… And you are just age 20. 30 regular season matches — 8 goals and 59 assists as a defender. 8 playoff contests — 1 goal and 22 assists. That’s an absolutely torrid run! QSW: [laughs] It was a lot of work! With the first round bye, we managed to sweep Cardiff in the semis after they went all 5 matches with Belfast in the quarters. Our finals with Sheffield were incredible. Watch out for them next season! But really, I’m out here to be the best. Alex [Nolan, Sussex County 1C] and I are out here to prove we can do more than just “hang” with the boys. We can beat them. Handily [laughs]. FCM: That’s a great segue into the deeper talking points. You and Alex have known each other for years. Rumor has it, she’s the one that got you into hockey. Tell us about that. QSW: Oh yeah! She’s been my best friend since we were kids. Our dads are still in the transit workers’ union together. Even with an ocean between them, Alex’s uncle [ex-NHL and Olympic ice hockey player Owen Nolan] always kept in touch with his brother. Her family was always into Sea Devils matches. I even went with them a few times… But I was always more into footy, myself. Y’know, as most English kids tend to [laughs]. Brighton lass, here. [laughs] I played football since I was able to walk. Played on bags of community squads as a central midfielder. I loved being able to play the field. I could defend and I could score. I was there to captain the team in transition. What sucks is that recruiting for women’s teams wasn’t what it is today, even three or four years ago… By the time I started to get a scout coming to my games, Alex had pretty much worn me down. FCM: What do you mean by “worn you down”? QSW: [laughs] Get ready for another roundabout. Like I said, I caught some Sea Devils matches with her and she’d also come with my family to the Amex to catch the Seagulls. Funny enough, we never caught a lot of each other’s matches. Didn’t get to support each other in the stands. A lot of times, they overlapped. It wasn’t until we were getting ready to finish up Secondary that we’d caught each other’s games. I loved what Alex did; she forced her way onto that team. She was the only girl at Falmer Freeze H.C. She played harder and better than anyone else on the ice. From the jump, her parents were huge advocates. They were supportive and had to fight the gaffer to get her a try-out, even. At least U17 football had girls’ squads. She never squandered her chance. It drove her. She played with a chip on her shoulder. Look at me, all this fawning! [laughs] Anyway, we’d skated together with our families and I was quite good, not to brag [laughs]. She caught me on the pitch and said something along the lines of “that’s the kind of command you need on the power play” and “you can skate… you have the eye for the field, you know exactly when to play selflessly and when you can take the shot.” She kept prodding and told me to come with her to training. They were down a defender, the “1D” and power play captain. She said the pairs were getting shuffled and I had a real chance. At least she thought so. We were 17 [laughs]. I’d finally had a scout at my last football match, but it wouldn’t hurt to try out for hockey. Turns out it definitely didn’t hurt! FCM: So she wore you down and got you to show up. Tell us what that training was like. QSW: It was the most “feel-good sports movie” thing... Alex and I practiced the basics at the rink for a week or two before I went with her and her mum to training. Somehow, the coach [now, former coach] still didn’t have solid pairings. Alex told him she brought a solution to the problem. He was an ass. He laughed at us. Given, this was early 2019, and god forbid one girl play hockey, let alone two. At the same time, he gave an exasperated, “Well, dress. Show me what you got.” I did some pretty simple stick handling and skating exercises. Weaved through some cones and took some shots. He told me to stick around. By the end of practice, I had some of the guys coming after me like they were trying to play enforcer. It felt very old school. I wasn’t about it. Why get blood on the ice when I could trip them up? I could skate better, poke check the puck away, and get possession quicker than any of them could’ve spelled “fight”. Alex was class. There’s a reason she was their first-line center at 17. The guy they had between the pipes in training had no solution to her backhanders and wrist shots. Gaffer had me slide directly into that 1D spot. It was pretty surreal. Like I said, real “sports movie”. FCM: Ironically, you weren’t with Falmer Freeze H.C. long enough to truly solve their problem. You and Alex were a class above and both received contracts and call ups to the English National League’s Brighton Whitecaps. They were toward the backend of the table and needed an injection of new life. QSW: Exactly. We just took the piss out of the league and Whitecaps couldn’t watch us dominate as they floundered. They didn’t care what our gender was, we got results. Right before the regular season wrapped, we were hit with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was horrifying and dreadful. So much loss and despair. I was able to keep up my conditioning and in the backyard, I’d done up some makeshift, bastardized field hockey set up. Something for a semblance of reps. As 2020 progressed, later in the year I was able to skate on ponds, which wasn’t really all that safe and the ice wasn’t the same. It was something though! I’d YouTube old Stanley Cup games, EIHL games, and then I’d even caught onto the Victory Hockey League. That was incredible! It was totally normal to see non-men players on a team with men. Everyone was class, too! FCM: With that, the ENL resumed play with a tournament, best-of-3 series, at the start of 2021. Whitecaps made a surprise run, falling in the semi-finals to the Cardiff Fire, who ultimately won the league. QSW: Yeah! It was a pretty magical run. Everyone came back reinvigorated. We had been through a traumatic event together and had renewed outlooks on life. I’d only fallen more in love with the sport. Wish we could’ve gone all the way, though. FCM: To start the 2021/22 season, you thought you’d be back with Brighton? QSW: Yep! We were ready to challenge for the championship. FCM: Instead, you and Alex both got the call to EIHL parent club, Sussex County Sea Devils. Your top pairing defence partner, Trent Arnold, also got the call. QSW: Yeah! That’s right. It was mental! We were all 19 and already in the English top flight — an aside, Trent could be paired with a bag of toffee this upcoming season and they’d still be the best pairing in the league. No way he doesn’t crack the NHL soon... But it was all so surreal. I’d started playing at 17! FCM: Sussex County had been a bang average, mid-table team since their championship in 2012. As we talked about earlier, you had a miraculous run. What’s next? QSW: Of course, I have to talk about my best friend [laughs]. Alex is returning to Sea Devils as the odds-on 1C. She’s the best in the league, bar none. She’s also started some organizations looking to get more girls and non-binary kids involved in hockey. A team is a great way to build leaders and share ideas and perspectives. We want England to have a women’s team that gets mentioned in the same breath as Canada or Sweden or Finland. I have decided not to return to Sussex County. I’m making a run at the VHL. I want to show the girls and enbies here that they can go play at the world’s largest stage. These are the best of the best. I want to take this challenge. I declared for the VHLM draft as a virtual unknown. GM Cole took a big chance selecting me 17th overall to the Kings. I’m ecstatic to hit the ice in Mexico City. Let’s see what this footballing girl from Brighton can do!

Quinn Saint-Willes Brighton, England #8, Defence || Mexico City Kings Headshot from upcoming interview

Sept 11 - Week 2 of 4, TPE Claim