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New York Americans; New Look, Renewed Drive

Devise

By Devise
in VHL.com Articles

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Devise

Devise 4,475

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I was given the option when I originally took over as Americans GM of GMing another franchise. At the time I didn't make that much of a secret, and @brovy was interesting in me taking over for him as Quebec GM following the end of Season 50. At that time, while I had known that @YEAH!stlemania had interest in me eventually taking over as American GM, I didn't know when that would be. All I knew is that I wanted to be a GM in this league again. It wasn't that I felt my tenures previously were bad. I'd won a Cup every tenure out. I pseudo GM'd Quebec (I did lines and organized our signings/trades that off-season, with the help of Koradek) before that my previous tenure as Americans GM I bailed when we won a Cup. And then I was able to leverage some good lotto picks and a solid core plus the generational talent in O'Malley to get a Cup in Cologne. So when I took over as Americans GM again, it may of come as a shock to some. Not because I was considering Quebec but more because, what was left for me to even do at GM? 

 

The answer to that question is, endure. In seasons past, my GM strategy was always the same. Build the best team I could build to win. Often that happened through rigorous trading so much so that I'd forfeit endless picks to fill my needs. I mean I convinced Koradek to trade 2 full drafts worth of picks for Quebec (6 picks) for Kellinger. It's what I did. And while my opinion on the actual value of draft picks hasn't taken a harsh change, my perspective on what I wanted to accomplish as a GM did. Henceforth, this new New York Americans team was born. 

 

I'd be lying if I told you right now that I'm not overjoyed with how the off-season went. How can I not be? Our primary targets in FA, @KingRobbie and @STZ quickly decided that this team is who they wanted to be apart of. We were drowned in luck this off-season by not only getting some FA's, but having enough goalie options to be automatically present so as to enable us to keep Power down. And this is all credit to a fellow GM in @Toast And then of course there is the lottery pick, which landed ups the amazing @Phil whom by the way has already shown a great LR presence. I mean the NY crew knows this, but we are pushing 10 pages of 52 discussion and we haven't even started the pre-season yet. 

 

Of course the battles are far from over, and nobody has won anything yet. But this article in particular isn't about who is going to win what. It's about seeing the fruits of not just my labor, but the labor of some of the core players on our roster who had to suffer through multiple seasons of rebuild. @gorlab was stuck with a rotten age at the time New York decided to rebuild because he was simply too young to trade as he was a good piece in a young core. Both @Streetlight and @der meister suffered through double rebuild seasons first on Stockholm and then on New York. Yet all of them, when I pitched the NY future thanks in large part to a huge plethora of picks that Yeah acquired believed we had a chance to do that. When I said we had the opportunity mix and match age groups well enough to keep a core in tact for seasons to come, they had faith. But the onus was on me and the team to show them that. 

 

Enter the off-season and now Season 52. New York currently has Lincoln, Unassisted, Shankly, Ravenwing, Maxwell, Digital and Korpalkov all signed to Season 54 or beyond in some cases. That doesn't factor in Power, who is in the minors. Now I realize at this point this may seem like me rubbing something in, I promise you it's not. I'm just honestly celebrating, and grateful. I'm grateful so many members on this site were willing to put their faith into me as GM and more importantly, this team. It started with Yeah, perhaps he knew then that having so many picks in the hands of someone who trades away picks to build a team would reap the best rewards. Or perhaps he just wanted the opportunity to be able to mourn every time one of those precious picks were traded. :P 

 

But the transformation is undeniable. When I took over in 51 the team was literally just Bobby Digital. Now we open the next season with 6 quality forwards and one of the best forward groups in the league and Digital leads an average defensive core, with a young goalie in net. So here is to the future for this club, I hope it's as much fun as this off-season has been. And to other teams, don't look at this and feel jealous or upset because honestly I wish nothing but the best for all of you as well. With Project Two coming in, we are more and more entering a reality where teams should be able to fill up like this with active, quality members. It keeps the interest healthy and more importantly the competition. While the overload in NA does seem scary, it's only temporary and as more and more players enter the league with these deeper drafts we should be seeing the type of results that are best for the VHL going forward.

 

Thanks for reading, and thanks to my team...you guys are all awesome. :cheers: 

Edited by Mr. Power
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Devise

Devise 4,475

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Just now, STZ said:

 

I'd say show him where the Mag forum is... But I dunno if you could give those directions..

 

Remember my last awful mag tenure? I wrote like 5 good articles and then missed the deadline like 3 weeks. :P 

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