All-In Titans

[McLovin 524]

All-In Titans

 

It's safe to say that (at least in the short term) my gamble to get Helsinki competitive as soon as possible has paid off pretty well. Two players in the top 5 of points, the second best goal scorer in the league, an almost assist per game defenseman, and a world class MVP candidate goalie backstopping us to a 4th place finish in the league overall. While this is fantastic for this season, I do admit that there was a large amount of shortsightedness in my acquiring these players and what it would entail for the future of this team.

 

Having three players retiring this season, as well as our Captain informing the team that he did not want to re-sign with the team, opting to explore free agency instead, it has thrown a wrench in the long term future of the team, and has all but guaranteed that it's either this season or nothing for your Helsinki Titans. We own no first round picks in any of the next three drafts, have basically no draft capital for the big S100 season at the moment, and with time working against us in almost every capacity, I've hamstrung the team for the foreseeable future.

 

We do have some promising futures coming up to the team next season, but in terms of potential down the line, what we have is what we'll get. A part of me regrets going so all in for a single season of winning after two very bad seasons, both in play and in team building. It's been a steep learning curve taking on the responsibilities of a VHL GM as opposed to the rather more straightforward nature of VHLM GMing. Balancing the salary cap, trade clauses, scouting, trading, valuation, it's all been a great task and would've been damn near impossible for me to navigate without such a fantastic team to help me through the first couple of seasons I've had as general manger of the Helsinki Titans.

 

As for what the future holds, I definitely see a big retool or even rebuild on the horizon. This team as it stands has this season and maybe next season, but S100 and onward will be a tough and painful process until we can rebuild to a competitive level again. A part of the struggle certainly comes from just the lower density of drafts and player retention the league has suffered for a few years now. This won't turn into a rant about recruitment or anything because I don't think that's the problem here, but this also isn't a media spot about the decline of an active player count number on a forum. This is just me taking time to put my thoughts over the last few weeks in text and allow me to reflect a bit, as well as determine where I want to go from here. It's been a tough go as a VHL GM, and between Maxim Anisimov not fully panning out to be the player I wanted him to be, real life catching up to me in the worst ways possible, and everything else, GMing has definitely been a tougher hobby for me to enjoy as of late, so I'm hoping with a good season under my belt, I can build the confidence needed to not only know what it's like to win, but also how to stay humble and honorable in defeat, both with my player and my team as a whole.

[Pifferfish 846]

On 4/20/2025 at 3:05 AM, McLovin said:

All-In Titans

 

It's safe to say that (at least in the short term) my gamble to get Helsinki competitive as soon as possible has paid off pretty well. Two players in the top 5 of points, the second best goal scorer in the league, an almost assist per game defenseman, and a world class MVP candidate goalie backstopping us to a 4th place finish in the league overall. While this is fantastic for this season, I do admit that there was a large amount of shortsightedness in my acquiring these players and what it would entail for the future of this team.

 

Having three players retiring this season, as well as our Captain informing the team that he did not want to re-sign with the team, opting to explore free agency instead, it has thrown a wrench in the long term future of the team, and has all but guaranteed that it's either this season or nothing for your Helsinki Titans. We own no first round picks in any of the next three drafts, have basically no draft capital for the big S100 season at the moment, and with time working against us in almost every capacity, I've hamstrung the team for the foreseeable future.

 

We do have some promising futures coming up to the team next season, but in terms of potential down the line, what we have is what we'll get. A part of me regrets going so all in for a single season of winning after two very bad seasons, both in play and in team building. It's been a steep learning curve taking on the responsibilities of a VHL GM as opposed to the rather more straightforward nature of VHLM GMing. Balancing the salary cap, trade clauses, scouting, trading, valuation, it's all been a great task and would've been damn near impossible for me to navigate without such a fantastic team to help me through the first couple of seasons I've had as general manger of the Helsinki Titans.

 

As for what the future holds, I definitely see a big retool or even rebuild on the horizon. This team as it stands has this season and maybe next season, but S100 and onward will be a tough and painful process until we can rebuild to a competitive level again. A part of the struggle certainly comes from just the lower density of drafts and player retention the league has suffered for a few years now. This won't turn into a rant about recruitment or anything because I don't think that's the problem here, but this also isn't a media spot about the decline of an active player count number on a forum. This is just me taking time to put my thoughts over the last few weeks in text and allow me to reflect a bit, as well as determine where I want to go from here. It's been a tough go as a VHL GM, and between Maxim Anisimov not fully panning out to be the player I wanted him to be, real life catching up to me in the worst ways possible, and everything else, GMing has definitely been a tougher hobby for me to enjoy as of late, so I'm hoping with a good season under my belt, I can build the confidence needed to not only know what it's like to win, but also how to stay humble and honorable in defeat, both with my player and my team as a whole.

I don't care about no Chris Paul, U Haul, or Conference Prince-de-Galles, Titans in 5!