Big League Chew 1/12: Phantom Force Five!

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

Big League Chew 1/12: Phantom Force Five!

 

 

Good morning everyone and welcome to Big League Chew, my new series where I sit down with VHL GM's to discuss their experiences in the league and what its like being in charge of the most important part of any league - the teams! 

 

This week I met with newly appointed GM of the Prague Phantoms, @diamond_ace to discuss his new expansion team, the process of the expansion draft, and what its like stepping into this type of role after being such a prominent member of the league for so many years. Thanks for joining us DA!

 

As always, if you have an idea for an interview series, or would like to be interviewed about your experiences, please let me know. And a big thank you to my constant readers as I branch out from my VHLM series.

 

Would you like to start off telling me a bit about your previous VHL experience, and how it lead you to be the first GM in Phantoms history?

 

There's a lot. I had only been here a season before I was GMing in some capacity. Joined in S19, and played on the Minot Gladiators (a VHLM team that no longer exists) under Jardy as GM. Jardy knew me from VFL, the only league I'd been in prior to VHL, and he'd built a pretty strong team there. Jardy then took over GMing Calgary starting in S20, and at that time he gave Minot to Spangle (who was a teammate of mine in Minot the prior season). At the same time, I took over Ottawa, since Ottawa didn't have a GM. The league was run a whole different way S1-19, the VHLM teams were officially affiliates of a pro team each, and S20 was the season they broke from that structure so a lot of teams needed guys - I took advantage of that and started VHLM GMing when I'd barely been in the league.

 

S20-25 I had Ottawa, won two cups with them (S21 and S23) and in S26, Jardy had stepped down from Calgary and named me the heir to the throne. I took over GMing Calgary at that time, and so began what became the longest consecutive GMing tenure in league history - I broke that record, and owned it for decades, until it was broken again just recently by Banana. My last season GMing Calgary was S41, so I was in charge 16 seasons. Only 1 cup (through a few unlucky breaks, although Jardy of course handed the team off to me just as it was entering a rebuild so there were a few seasons of that before we started getting competitive). I won top GM 3 times, so my peers at the time obviously recognized my moves two more times than the cup winning season, proving that it was mostly just luck that prevented me from more cups.

Even then, the only thing that brought me out of GMing was my life was getting busier - if I could have postponed life I'd have probably stayed on. A few seasons later I took over Oslo and tried to recreate the magic but life had me by the balls at that point and wouldn't let go. It took me fully going inactive here for most of Vaclav Hrdina's career for life to die down enough that I could make a comeback, and since I've been back I've had a run with Ottawa (which went well, 6 seasons, a cup and 3 straight finals) and then took over running the show with Banana, coincidentally just as he was passing my old record. Not VHLM GMing and instead commissioning (I guess that would be the term) left me in a position where I could feasibly take a VHL team, and after Prague had been thrown around as a destination a few times in the board, I threw my hat in the ring for it since I'd been pushing for a Prague team for some time.

 

You've got a ton of history in the league, sounds like the GM position is well deserved. What are your relationships with the other GM's like stepping into the role?

 

Obviously Banana and I get on well, given we're working in such proximity with each other in the league. Bushito and I have known each other for most of my sim league life, he was in the same VFL that was my first league before VHL, and he's been in probably a good dozen leagues with me over the time, mostly football. Advantage, much the same as Bushito actually - all the old football leagues, plus with him, he's part of the Pajodcast crew, which is now mostly just their gaming Youtube channel (along with Devise and Jericho) but used to be an actual VHL Podcast series. Those three were always the core (which I guess also tells you my relationship with Devise) but a bunch of us used to make regular guest appearances on the Pajodcast and would always get in Skype calls with them when they weren't recording - there was over a year where most nights there was a Skype call of some sort between me, Advantage, Devise, Jericho, Boom, Muffins, Noah, occasionally others like Street, Tagger, and Duckberg.

 

So those four (Banana, Bushito, Advantage, Devise) I would consider four of the people I'm closest to across the site on the whole. Esso I have a good relationship with, he was my AGM for a year in Ottawa then took over the team when I moved on, Shawnglade used to ask me for advice a lot when he was first taking over Halifax as an expansion so there have been a lot of chats between the two of us. Victor was a key part of my old Calgary teams with Chershenko and I've talked a lot of strategy with him in the past, Quik was one of the iconic figures in Calgary history before my tenure and although I didn't overlap a ton with him before, I've talked to him more since we've both been back.

That leaves Beaviss and Hedgehog, who I have the least history with, but I get along with both of them just fine. Beaviss' opinions in the board sometimes are at odds with mine, but that's fine, and kind of the point - board members with one side of a debate talk it out with board members with the other side and come to a conclusion. I also respect the hell out of his recruiting efforts as he's one of the main causes of the league being where it is.

 

I think that everyone can agree that Beaviss has a very strong personality and Bana gets along with everyone. What're your goals for the Phantoms' first season?

 

Honestly none, at least competitively. I'd like to get the guys to gel as a unit, get everyone some good playing time and comfortable with each other as a team, but I fully expect to be among the lottery teams for at least one season and probably more. The difference will be in changing the team from the lower ranking random collection of guys, to the lower ranking but promising set of prospects who should be set to start climbing up the ranks, much like where Seattle is currently.

 

I know that several GM's were against the idea of expansion leading into this season. What do you say to the people in those camps?

 

GMs are always going to be against expansion, they lose guys for free and no one wants that, except the teams that are starved for cap space. I think any GM who didn't want it was looking at it from the perspective of their team, rather than the perspective of the league. The league needs expansion. 2 teams will stem the tide for now, and should be enough on the skater front, but goalie-wise especially we perhaps need more than that, but that's a debate for another time. I think it was fairly obvious to bring along expansion and something that should go along relatively unanimously.
 

Are there any up and coming players that you've got your eye on in the upcoming season?
 

Always, but I'm going to keep that as a team secret for now. I've been guilty in the past of perhaps talking too much strategy with people who were in a position to benefit from it, and while you personally are the exact person to talk strategy with (and you already know a lot of it) an interview can be read by whoever and therefore probably not the place. I will say that now that the lottery has happened and it's incredibly unlikely Condor Adrienne goes anywhere but Malmo, I'd been looking at trading up if it had been one of the more established teams that won the lottery.
 

I know the Bears pulled off something similar and now command the 3OA pick for S69 (nice), its a good strat for teams that are rebuilding. Or in your case, building. Who do you think will be the Phantoms' natural rival?

 

DC would make the most sense, coming into the league at the same time as us, starting from the same spot, with the same opportunities to climb the table. Plus Eno and I have a good enough relationship that I think we could pull of the "rivals" storyline in media without actually feeling any sort of way about it in actuality.

 

Kind of a Vancouver/Buffalo scenario, I feel you. Anything else you'd like to say on behalf of the Phantoms?
 

Not really, I think you covered it already

 

A big thanks to Diamond_Ace for taking the time out of his busy schedule to talk with me, and for providing the level of detail and insight that is seldom seen through this league. Thanks again constant readers, on the next issue of Big League Chew I'll be meeting with @Banackock to discuss the mostly-successful rebuild of the Seattle Bears and what's coming for them in the next few seasons.

 

Keep your sticks on the ice!

 

-HZ

 

1688 Words

TPE for weeks ending Sept 15, 22, & 29.