An Ode To Beaviss

[Devise 4,475]

I'm going to steal the great @Kendrick's .Com article format here because this feels like the appropriate thing to talk about for my article this week.

 

For those of you that are unaware, @Beaviss long time member and now former Commissioner stepped down from the majority of his league duties this last week. Beavs will still be heading up as Vancouver GM for now, a role he's had great success in. Looking at his decision to step down, it's important to remember that burn out can be a big thing in leagues like this, especially as your time in the league grows along with your league responsibilities. A majority of the league jobs of all shapes and sizes come with their own form of stresses and burden, and as you maintain those roles for extended periods of time it's very easy for those feelings to mount. So before I give Beav his due proper, I just want to give a thank you to all the staff and members who help keep this place running. You all put in a lot of work, and we do not thank you all enough for it, seriously.  

 

Beaviss is such an odd member story for me, because my memories of him feel like they are rooted in seasons before he actually came into the league. While he frequently got associated with the vaunted "Old, Boys, Club" much to his chagrin, Beav was actually one of the more newer faces in the league. For some reason I always like to think he joined the league in the 30's, because I have so many memories from that era, but part of it is just how quickly he rose to be a staple member in the league that his presence instantly felt like it was that familiar. In truth, Beaviss joined the league and declared for the S57 draft all the way back in July of 2017. Keaton Louth was a defender for much of his career before switching to Right Wing. He wasn't that bad of a first player all things considered, and won a Cup and a Kanou for Beavs the first time out. Did you know that Beavs found the league because of another hockey sim game called Metroho?

 

That was only nearly 4 years ago now, which is wild to consider given how much of an impact Beavs has made on the league in his time here. It's more wild because I feel like Beav may be one of the only members associated or affiliated with the click of "older members" who run the league who actually didn't spend any time in the older forums, before this one. That is generally always the good margin to determine how long someone has been in the league, or it was before this host and site has become our staple for a while now. 

 

While he will be remembered as a consistent GM who brought stability and built a good legacy to his franchise, there is no denying Beavs ultimate league contribution was recruitment. His overall commitment to other league jobs as well as his abilities as a recruitment specialist are what made him such an attractive Commish option in the first place. The majority of the commishes will all admit that recruitment has never been our area of expertise. Beav being able to take the lead on that front, and do it so damn well allowed the rest of the league to focus on retention, and it ultimately lead to the great one two punch of great recruitment drives spearheaded by motivated/loyal members mixed with the development of the Portal. While we may meme about the number of expansions, and how Beav always seemed to want to expand I am so happy we were able to expand as well as we have these past few seasons. None of that would of been possible without his amazing commitment to recruiting and structuring a way to properly bring those players into the league. The work that he and recruitment crew did not just with getting people here, but in assisting with the on boarding and education process is legitimately why the league is as big as it is today. Thank you for all that you've done Beav, the league is better for it!

 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Word Count: 718

[Kendrick 4,741]

Wow I copyrighted that theme man! Pay your royalties