WC S46 - Interview With Team Western Europe GM

[Tagger 2,722]

Since making a winning appearance at his first World Cup in Season 26, Mr. Power has had a somewhat unprecedented amount of success in the tournament. Despite only participating in eight tournaments to this point of his career, he already has picked up five medals, but more impressive is that four of those medals are gold! The man formerly known as Devise has also held key roles in past World Cups; he was the World Cup Commissioner in Season 37 and he managed Team Canada in Season 40. He now returns to World Cup management for the second time to take over the reigning champions Team Western Europe with his defenseman Thaddeus Humbert.

 

Congratulations on being selected as Team Western Europe's General Manager for the upcoming World Cup! We haven't seen repeat World Cup champions since Scandinavia's reign of terror between Season 20 and Season 26. Despite that, would you consider Team Western Europe the favourites for this tournament?

 

I don't know if I'd consider us the favourites. But I would say we are among the favs. We don't really have any holes, and we have prominent players in every position. I think repeating is a clear possibility for us. 

 

You also managed a reigning champion in the last World Cup you had a GM role (the Season 40 tournament with Team Canada) however your team failed to make the Bronze Medal game after being surprisingly eliminated by Team World in the Quarter Finals. Did your team just have bad luck in that tournament or do you feel there was another reason why the team disappointed in that tournament?

 

I think a big reason we struggled was because we just didn't have the offensive firepower needed to get it done. If you look at our leading scorer, it was the then underrated defender Don Draper. We had a pretty young forward group in Season 40 for the most part. Naomi Young was one of our biggest names. Sure we hit some bad luck, especially since we had a very good goalie tandem. But I felt like we needed another big name on offense to push us over the edge. 

 

You are in the privileged position of being able to select from three goalies with VHL experience. When you look at Team Canada, who will have to rely on a VHLM goalie for this tournament,  how much of an advantage does that give your team? 

 

Huge, especially in today's league. It is no secret that goalies aren't nearly as good this era as they once were, so getting the top name in Hans Wingate and then two capable back ups, one of which has already won a Continental Cup. Could be the game changer for this tournament. 

 

Kurtis Hunter moved to defense this season after being a winger for the first six seasons of his career, does that position change benefit Team Western Europe or would you have preferred it if he had remained at winger.

 

It is a change that ends up being exactly what this team needed. Going into the tournament we lacked a true number one defender. Hamilton, while still very good is young. Having him carry all the load with Humbert as his number two would of been a disadvantage for us. With Hunter at D, we end up having a good 1-2 pairing and our depth on defense then gets to actually showcase itself with a solid second d-pairing as well. 

 

The Season 43 World Cup was the first to hand out individual awards and your star center Bismarck Koenig took home the MVP award despite having only played two seasons in the VHL to that point of his career, how important will Koenig be to any success you have at this tournament? 

 

He was vastly important to us last time out, and he'll be vastly important to us now. While O'Malley is setting all the records, most agree that in terms of bang for your buck Koenig is the top player in the VHL right now. When I look at why Team Canada failed to repeat under my guidance, not having a player just like Bismarck is the reason. The amount of flexibility and options you get with lines, and just with confidence in your team grows by having a player of his caliber on the roster. 

 

On a personal note, a Gold Medal at this tournament would see you win your fifth Gold Medal as a member, which would make you only the sixth member to reach that milestone. Looking back at the teams you've played with, which one do you consider to be the best?

 

The best? I don't know. That is tough. For me nothing will ever top my first win, since it was literally my first ever World Cup with Rauno Pajari in Season 26 and Team Scandinavia. Making that roster after being still so new to the league, and winning, it was the first thing in this league I ever won. I cherish that still. However S34 USA is probably the best team I've played on. Rift was in his prime, Sullivan was one of the best D in the league, we had the depth on defense in the Sounds brothers and we were pretty scary offensively as well with underrated producers like Marcellin and Dunlop. 

 

Final question, you've been very vocal about the implementation of a player store purchase that allows players to switch nationalities, what do you say to those people who feel such a purchase would ruin the spirit of the World Cup? 

 

I would say to remember that the integrity of the World Cup and it's continuity is already hanging on by a thread. We introduced Team Mercenaries as a way for people who don't get selected to join in on the fun. It has created the situation where someone could play on Team Merc one World Cup, then for another team next time out. To me looking at the success of this league, it's easy to see that the main league, the VHL, generates the most discussion, interest, and member involvement than any other aspect. When you look at reasons why, players having some control of their own destiny is part of that. It isn't just about them being able to join other teams if they wish. It's about GM's being forced to actually learn how to manage players properly. We tell ourselves these GM roles in the WC are good starting grounds to become a VHL GM, but the truth of the matter is that they don't even remotely go into the hardships an details of player management. Under this system, which I will remind everyone is proposed with a once per career cap and purchases only to be allowed up to the trade deadline to prevent last minute country swapping, GM's would be forced to keep their teams and players happy. Something they should be doing anyways. GM's also could speak to players they know in the off-season to try to get a switch. It really adds the storyline and drama we see generate so much discussion and league activity in the VHL. 

 

Thanks to Mr. Power for his time.