Keeping up with the Seattle Bears

[Quik 4,113]

Keeping up with the Bear-dashians!

 

Seattle, WA- It is a pretty exciting time for fans of the Seattle Bears in the Victory Hockey League. The team is defending its first Continental Cup win in 16 seasons, currently sitting a comfortable 3rd place in league standings, with 26 games remaining on the docket. While their current standing might not seem exciting to those outside the organization, and its fan base, it puts them in a much better spot for the playoffs than their 4th place finish last season. Indeed, if the current standings hold, the Bears would receive some much needed rest upon the start of the playoffs, as they would avoid re-entering the Wild Card round, where they dispatched the Riga Reign in 3 games last season! For the Bears' players, this season has brought about a lot of fun, as well as some controversies, as they prepare for a playoff run to try and defend their Championship Trophy!

 

As another season plays out in Seattle, one thing that will always remain a constant is the strategy tinkering of GM/Coach Blake Campbell. Always looking to find a way to edge out his opponents, Campbell often tries to get new looks at his on-ice product, swapping line-mates and deployment strategies, and seeing what works best as he prepares for the battle that is the Continental Cup Playoffs. While his coaching strategies might seem erratic, his off-ice life is very much the opposite. Campbell employs a very strict regiment away from the rink, right down to eating the exact same measurements of food at every meal.

 

"Yeah, I try to save my mind's processing power for the rink. Outside of those 4 walls, I like to keep things running smoothly, so that nothing can interrupt my ability to get the most out of the team. I have 8 pairs of underwear, one for each day of the week as well as an extra set for laundry day. I have 7 sets of trousers, 7 shirts and ties, and 1 pair of shoes. I'm not really one for the frivolities of life, just want to get my work done and make sure the Bears are the best they can be!" - Blake Campbell on his rigid routines.

 

In stark contrast to Campbell is superstar forward Gabriel McAllister. Ever the worker on the ice, and in the weight room, when McAllister is away from the rink, he takes nothing for granted! Often he will be spotted at the city's go-to spots, like the Pike Place Starbucks, or the Space needle in Pike Place, or really, anything to do in Pike Place, the Bears Captain loves Pike Place, and unwinding away from the rink.

 

"Really, you can only control what you can control. I put in my hours in the weight room, I push myself 110% on the ice, I do everything I can to be the best player I can be, for myself, my teammates, and especially the fans! After I leave the rink, I can't control what everyone says, or does, so I enjoy it with my family and friends. What else am I supposed to do, sulk if someone says something bad about me, or if the team loses? It happens, we'll win the next one, there's no point lingering on the past!" - McAllister on his ability to separate work and home life.

 

A blend of the two formerly mentioned members of the Bears organization, Shawn Gretzky is kind of the glue that holds everything Bears together. The team's ambassador to its fans, Gretzky is often seen in the Seattle community helping the city's youth through programs such as "Gretz-kids", where he gives at-risk youth a league to play ball-hockey and keep them off the streets! Among his other charitable arrangements, he sits on the board of the Seattle foundation for making ugly rich people pretty, where hideous millionaires will go and trade millions of dollars, which are then donated to various charitable organizations, for an opportunity to be treated by the top plastic surgeons in the world!

 

"It's great, these ugly people come in and donate so much that it's really raising the bar for all the kids in Seattle. One person donated so much that it ensured all children in Seattle would be able to get a hot meal in school for the remainder of their school year!" - Gretzky on the SFFMURPP organization.

 

On the back-end of the Bears on-ice lineup, Mats Johnsson is the resident weirdo. Known on the ice for his slick skating and crisp passes, Johnsson is by far the Bear with the most flair for the dramatics, off the ice! At one point this season, he asked his teammates to rank 4 different clothing materials, as a supposed poll for what suit he should get himself to wear to the team's Christmas party. After each member of the team returned their reply, he got each of them a suit made with their 3rd ranked material. Once the suits were delivered, it ended up being the team's theme for their Christmas party, that they all wear their "ugly" suits, as well as becoming their customary Sunday "Best" that all Bears players wear for every Sunday night game!

 

"I figured, it'd be funny to get them something they thought was ugly, but I didn't want to make it their worst choice - that'd be too mean!" - Johnsson on his "prank".

 

While it's all fun and games, there are some hiccups that occasionally occur in Bear-land. With Johnsson heading into the off-season as a potential Unrestricted Free Agent, there have been whispers of strife between he and GM Campbell. Rumours have it that Johnsson is content to play out his contract in Seattle, and hit the market as a UFA, once the season ends. Campbell, who is caught between trying to win this season, and looking toward the off-season, has been said to be open to moving his star defender, should the right deal come up. While he does not hold a No-Trade Clause, it is believed that Johnsson has effectively killed one potential trade already by not committing to signing an extension with the interested team. Should any of this information be true, it will be interesting to see what this does to the relationship between Johnsson and Campbell, as the team looks to get the most value out of its assets, and the player seems comfortable going to the beat of his own drum!