Claimed: Player's Tribune: Farewell Saskatoon [1/2]

[MD9 139]

Player's Tribune: Farewell Saskatoon

Written by Jake Scheel

 

 

The Saskatoon Wild may have been my home for my two-season VHLM career, but not everyone took my joining the team particularly well. When I walked in the locker room, I was met with open arms and everyone was polite right off the bat. But my decision to choose Saskatoon over the Las Vegas Aces, who at that time were undefeated, was met with some confusion -- and perhaps even a little laughter. A couple people assumed I was mistaken in choosing the team I did, but the opposite was true. I wanted to join a team that wasn't already 'finished', one where I would be able to make an impact and enjoy my time in the league -- where if I won, it would really feel like I earned it.

 

It took one more season than I initially hoped, but in the end, I'm leaving Saskatoon having achieved just that. I was truthfully only a very small part of the team that won the championship. Thanks to some very good management, the team ended up being very well balanced. Powerful without being outright stacked. I think that the Wild's victory this season was perhaps positive for more than just our team for that reason -- although one of the stronger teams in the league won, it wasn't the consensus pick that seemed to stack the cards in its favour. Of course, there's nothing wrong with trying to build a winning team, and going to great lengths to do it -- but for the sake of league parity, the first place team not winning the championship can only be viewed as a good thing.

 

Of course, the honour goes to the Las Vegas Aces for that, as they were the ones that defeated the team that had effectively became the Aces 2.0. It's a little ironic, but it's true. And playing against the Aces in the finals only offered a shot at revenge after we lost to them last season.

 

The point of this article though isn't just to retread this season or last season -- plenty of articles about the Wild, the Aces, and the Storm have, and will cover similar topics, as the fallout of the playoffs is a story that has, and will continue to dominate the VHLM until the off-season gets into full swing. Rather, this is more or less all just a preface to my saying farewell to the Wild, and to thank them for having me on their team for however brief it was. I was happy to join them to begin with, and I was even happier when they made the move to bring me back after I was entered into the draft as a mid-season signing. 

 

I'm glad I got a chance to play alongside a great group of guys and girls, and that we were able to make good on the promise we showed this season and sealed the deal, to end the season on the highest note possible. At this point, a lot of our careers are going to be splitting off into every which direction, but I hope to be able to play against and alongside my now former teammates with the Wild for many seasons to come. Some of you, like McAllister, Ron, and Do, are probably going to be bigger stars than me -- but maybe one day I'll manage to find my way onto one of your guys lines so you can make me look good by scoring off my passes all over again. And maybe we can win again, you know -- that's always nice too.

 

 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

REVIEW:

 

A nice article detailing your feelings on Saskatoon and the VHLM in general. I agree with you that it's a good thing when the number 1 regular season VHLM team isn't so dominant that there's no unpredictability on who the Founder's Cup winner is going to be. I was "guilty" of that when I was Ottawa's GM for two seasons, but for better or for worse, that's how it was back then. This team was filled with a bunch of great members and players, seeing all of us rewarded with a Founder's Cup was nice to see. Good luck in Calgary, ttp!