Welcome to Chicago !!!

[Spence King 387]

From Helsinki to Chicago, The Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe to CHI-Town & North America

 

 

We hadn’t heard much from Spencer Elsby That changed early Monday morning however, as Elsby opened up in a candid interview with VHT’s Chief Executive Writer and Founder @Bobo

 

Elsby described his past week as “a blur” before adding “I’m still in shock.” March 12^th it was made official Spencer Elsby was traded from the European Conference of the VHL all the way over to the North American Conference in a deal that saw the Helsinki Titans move their Star-Studded Defenceman in a career long Titan who had been with the team since S72 Making two Continental Cup Finals Appearances to the Defending Continental Cup Champions the Chicago Phoenix.

 

You're going to the team that has just won the Continental Cup. How does that feel, and what are you expecting in terms of success for this upcoming season? - VHT’s Chief Executive Writer @Bobo

 

Elsby described his past week as “a blur” before adding “I’m still in shock.”

 

The trade saw Spencer Elsby, and S79 fourth round draft pick sent in return to The Helsinki Titans with a pair of S79 Draft Picks one of which could turn out to be the 1^st pick in the 2^nd round making it a borderline 1^st. Chi VHLM Veteran Defenceman and VHL Rookie, dressing 288 regular season VHLM games and being drafted 5 seasons ago and spending 4 seasons in the VHLM and VHL Rookie Yuuto Kira Cloudera heading back to Helsinki. Prior to the deal, it’s unlikely you’d hear Elsby say ANYTHING negative about the franchise that drafted him in S72, other than his sudden departure from the Titans rubbed the him wrong way.

 

Helsinki has been your home for quite some time. How does it feel to walk away from the Titans, and on to a new start in the Phoenix organization? - VHT’s Chief Executive Writer Bobo.

 

“I felt like I wasn’t treated—with what I sacrificed for 5 years—with the respect that I thought I deserved, I felt like an option, a disposable one , and @Emi was being chosen first, it was like getting being dumped by your girlfreind/boyfriend yet worse the feeling that they've cheated on you, ya know ? ” Elsby explained. “By just giving me the say-so of letting me know something’s going on, or it’s a chance [that I’d be traded]. That’s all I wanted. I’m not saying you don’t have to trade me. Just let me know something’s going on because I sacrificed everything. Just let me know if its happening OR not, you know what I mean? That’s all I ask.

 

“Everybody knows I’m the most low maintenance person in the world. Just let me know some deets so that I can prepare myself for whatever my next chapter is and I didn’t get that.”

 

Elsby felt misunderstood and misled by Titans GM and Owner @Jubo07 (The User who not only recruited me, helped me start my career taught me the basics with weekly PTs capped vs Uncapped and has continued over what has been amazingly and incredibly hard to believe a full calendar year has passed since this man changed my life in showing me the VHL and later on being lucky enough to have been drafted by Jubo and the INCREDIBLE experience in his discord LR, the most organized and user friendly layout I have yet to come across in discord and cant thank you enough for privacy reasons keeping it short and sweet I am truly eternally grateful and in your eternal debt thank you for everything “J”, and it goes without saying the thank you to @BladeMaiden and everything she has done for the titans and making playing in Helsinki the most realistic and engaging experience imaginable),

 

“To my Understanding It seemed like I was in that discussion of moving forward with the team,” Elsby said. “My whole approach was like every single summer (Other than this WC that has been nothing short of an incredible experience that I will never be able to forget. Preparing, going out there, supporting the young guys in Summer League as a leader and a big brother, figuring out ways how I can be better, and finding ways to use those skills to make my team better and the players around me better. In the Locker room it had been talked about before and expressed many times how I want to play my career out in Helsinki. That was the feeling and that was the gist of the conversations we had with moving forward, having an opportunity to do something special all over again. So that was my mindset and everybody around me’s mindset as well.”

 

Why The Titans couldn’t pass on chance for Trading Elsby, Any VHL Teams 1^st line D and PP Quarterback ?

 

Elsby explained that the fact he had such a strong relationship with Jubo made getting traded that much tougher...

 

“I use the word ‘family,’ ‘brother,’ ‘Love”, things other people use lightly…for me once you use that term, I stick by that term. I stand by that term,” Elsby said. “So whether it’s something I like or don’t like, I’m going to accept it if you come to me and let me know beforehand. But don’t make one thing seem like another thing and catch me off guard and do something else.”

 

“That was my whole problem. I understand how the game works, how the business works. My mindset was that I was always going to be in Helsinki my whole career, but I was never naive. Just let me know. Jubo had told me that the trade talks were there. I understood completely and even told him if the trade MUST be done due to cap restriction and brings back a huge hall for the Titans, that when it comes time to, when I retire the following season, I will accept a 1 day contract … I want to retire a Titan

 

That’s where my frustration came from. And I think it showed. From the fans to even myself. It just caught me completely off guard. … To hit me with that at midnight out the blue. Like, c’mon. Two days prior, it was asked, ‘Is anything going on?’ If it is just let me know because the rumours keep coming up. Two days later, you’re going here.”

 

The soon-to-be-23-year-old said the response he received from teammates, peers and fans was “overwhelming.”

 

He singled out @PatrikLaine in particular as someone that sent him a moving text message.

 

“He couldn’t believe it,” Elsby said of Lowry’s reaction to the trade. “But he gave me some words that helped me through the whole day, what to prepare for. As him just being my brother, outside of my teammate, he was there for me in that moment. You could tell it affected him as well, so it was cool just to have that support from him.”

Even with the Titans getting the assets they did in return, many of the team’s fans were just as upset as Elsby was when he was informed of the move. Players of Spencer Elsby’s caliber have often been dubbed by the VHL community in history that star players don’t want to stick with one team long-term but Elsby said he wanted to change that stigma, which is why he chose to re-sign with the team in S75. He was even open to taking less money if it would help the bigger cause.

“I didn’t want to put us in any scenario where we wouldn’t be able to help the team by bringing in other guys,” Elsby said. “I never wanted to ask for the max. I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure anything we needed to have down the line, we could have. It was always sacrificing for the betterment of the team. I made it very clear to Jubo I wanted to be there.”

 

Elsby added that the day the trade was first reported he spent a few hours at International Rapper Hopsin’s get away house in Helsinki, getting some advice from his friend and speaking about the legacy he has left in Helsinki.

Heading to the Phoenix means Elsby has only new faces to meet in the locker room having literally never played with any of the Chicago roster during his combined 6 seasons in Helsinki and Philadelphia, Not even a fellow countrymen from his 4 times participating in International play. JPC… Jean Pierre Camus aka @solas, will be reunited with his former AGM from Philly at the time as well as his team captain during his VHLM rookie season Mr Elsby where JPC only saw 3 Games played and 14 minutes in the playoffs in S71. Elsby will also be reunited with  VHLM rival and member of the Star Center and former 1^st Overall Pick in S71 Kyl Oferson @Nykonax and later traded by the Bears prior to the S76 season. Two-time Continental Cup Champion and later traded by the Bears prior to the S76 season.

 

“The second person I talked to that night that I’m close friends with is up and comer and member of the IRL KTM Super Cross Racing pro team, born and Raised in Chicago, Dawson Draycott” Spence said. “I called him. I remember feeling somewhat numb, I was … I was upset and I call him like, ‘Man, dude just traded me, like, what!?’ Andy’s like, ‘Man, to who?’ I said, ‘To y’all.’ He started laughing. He said ‘Look, I don’t mean to laugh, but I got your back, man. You’re going to be alright, man. Don’t worry about it.’ I was like, ‘Dog, I shouldn’t have even called you...’ But it was cool just to be able to call my man, somebody that’s close in my life that’s close Phoenix too, so he made it easy.”

 

When asked what type of player Chicago are getting, Elsby described himself as “a guy that’s been proven to prove himself time and time again, and this time around, having the biggest chip on his shoulder ever had in my career. I have everything but nothing to lose; First accept sadness. Realize that without losing, winning isn’t so great”

 

General Manager @JeffD of the Chicago Phoenix is more than pleased to add Elsby to the already star studded defensive core in Chicago and had this to say after the trade.

 

Jeff General Manager of the VHL Chicago Phoenix - "'Coming off of our championship season I knew we would need to continue to improve as a team to try and repeat this next season. When the opportunity arose for me to add a defenseman like Spencer Elsby to the roster, who I see as one of the premier defenders in the league, I had to make it happen. Adding him to a core that already has @fishy Matty Socks, @gorlab& @Kylrad L and R cements us as having what I see as the best defensive set in the league and should make us favourites to come out of the North American conference yet again this season."

 

Lets get that chip #GOPhoenixGO graphics credit to the "Graphics God" and my new teammate  @gorlab

 

Word count : 1617

Edited March 17, 2021 by Spence King

[Bobo 514]

Great article man! Happy to be in it.