Mexico City Kings, thoughts from a new GM

[JCarson 730]

Competing for a Cup or Fair Play - What are we here for.

 

As I noted in my media spot prior to the season opening I am going to do a season series about my thoughts during my first season as GM of the Mexico City Kings. Today’s discussion will center around the competing goals of a GM. 

 

First the goal of any GM should be to put their team in the best position to win, to compete and to strive for the ultimate prize, in this instance the VLM Founder’s Cup. There are many things at play when it comes to competing, one of which is making lines that can be competitive against the other teams. GM must make choices on who to trade, who to keep, who to play together. They also must make choices on who gets special teams time both power play and penalty kill. The goal is to build and play the best team possible. 

 

Secondly, the goal of every VHLM GM is to promote an environment that is inclusive of all players, that is unbiased and that allows each player to grow at their own pace. The VHLM is primarily a learning ground for players new to the league, and although winning is typically fun, it can come at a cost.  That means that every player must get a fair amount of time on the ice, regardless of whether they are capped at 200tpe with a meta build or if they are a brand-new first-generation waiver player with a build that is suboptimal or even abysmal. 

 

These two concepts often come at odds with each other, and it is the GM’s responsibility to make the correct choices, the choices that put the players who are learning front and center even if it negatively impacts the team or veterans of the league. This week I was able to pick up a First-Generation player off waiver, a Right Wing with a minimal build. Because when you only have 80 TPE you are going to have a minimum build. Not any fault of the player, everything to do with just starting out. So, I was left in a situation where I put the player into the lineup, assigned then spots that tried to give them equal playing time to the other wingers (it didn’t work out perfectly).  

 

So here is what happened. The player came out in their first sim and got their first goal. Sure, one point in 2 games is not amazing but they put up production. The team cheered, they gathered round and celebrated, they bonded as a team and will all the better for it. And when we get to the same situation where we have another waiver pick up, we will again bring them into the line-up and welcome them with open arms, giving them time to play, time to grow, time to shine. 

 

We may win, we may lose but the Mexico City Kings will be a place where everyone gets to have their time on the ice. They will have the opportunity to form part of the team, and everyone will be better for it.