Toronto GM On Locking Playoffs, Dominant Season

[Devise 4,475]

It was a few sims ago, the regular season standings leader Toronto Legion finally locked a playoff spot roughly 56 games into the season. In a season with tight races across the standings board, the only sure thing as time has wore on is that the early hot start from Toronto would carry them to a playoff spot. Still, locking a playoff spot as much as it was an inevitably only speaks to the success the Legion have had as a team this year. We caught up for the first time this season with Toronto GM Ryan Power to talk to him about the team this season.

 

Quote

Yeah, it feels weird to lock a spot out of the blue like that. I wasn't even really paying attention to it at first to be honest. Then I saw it and was like "I guess that makes sense." Our focus in our locker room hasn't been on the standings. It can't be. You start to get enough success that instead of focusing on how good we are we want to keep it simple. Focus on the areas we aren't as good, we still have power play work to tweak on for example. Also just focus on hammering home the fact that regular season isn't playoffs y'know? Calgary has a good team, Moscow has a good team. It's a good competitive league right now and we aren't hiding or shy from the fact that a lot of our "dominance" comes in part to shootout success. Sure, we have had some great comebacks leading to those shootouts, and we feel we absolutely have the starpower to compete with any team in this league in a playoff series. But you still got to win it right? So that is our focus. 

That said it's hard not to be proud of the team thus far. Veran Dragomir is having a cinderella season, Arroyo is still proving to be a top level player, Tzuyu and Sully Jr are having a bit better chemistry this season. Rift has been better. Boucher has taken to center well. After some changes Lando Baxter is adding in nicely on the blue line. If I were to talk about any one reason for our success it'd be tough, because I feel like we are the absolute example of a team having everything. Coming into the off-season I had resigned our fate a little to the idea that when it came to depth both on forward and defense teams would not only be better, but a bit more stacked than us? I think Moscow and Calgary for sure are examples of better than us, but we were able to make enough moves that I don't really think that wound up being a weakness for us. Especially with how otherwise well rounded the roster wound up becoming. So for us we just see it as a case of a good overall team finding it's way to come together. 

 

[Bushito 1,945]

Calgary for the cup

[Dil 1,760]

*inhales*

So someone has to say it...basically until we have a non GM simming the playoffs these games will have seriously negative stigma. How this has been allowed for a second straight season is irredeemably nonsensical. Throw yet another asterisk on the winning team of the Victory Cup which is supposed to be the top award of a player and GM's career. But boy does this cast a dark cloud. Hate to say it. The inside knowledge of how the sim operates and its applied seasonal settings is incredibly valuable.

[Bushito 1,945]

30 minutes ago, DilIsPickle said:

*inhales*

So someone has to say it...basically until we have a non GM simming the playoffs these games will have seriously negative stigma. How this has been allowed for a second straight season is irredeemably nonsensical. Throw yet another asterisk on the winning team of the Victory Cup which is supposed to be the top award of a player and GM's career. But boy does this cast a dark cloud. Hate to say it. The inside knowledge of how the sim operates and its applied seasonal settings is incredibly valuable.

I offered to sim when we were rebuilding but got turned down

[omgitshim 899]

Peace and Dragomir have been amazing additions to the team.