My Time as Rush GM

[Josh 1,656]

As my tenure as the Yukon Rush General Manager is coming to an end, I thought it was fitting to write up a little blurb summarizing it all. With 6 seasons under my belt (S64-S69); I’ve finished off this stint tied for the longest tenure with the greatest GM in Rush history (eaglesfan036, S36-S41). Before my jump up to the GM spot, I also served as the Assistant under BarzalGoat. Unfortunately during the 9 seasons where I was involved, the Rush only made the finals twice and were unsuccessful in winning the cup both times. 

 

The first season after officially taking over the reins of the Rush was a struggle to say the least. With a team made up of career minor players, there wasn’t much of an opportunity to contest and the Rush ended up missing out on the playoffs and finishing last in the league. Fortunately this season allowed the Rush to trade in some assets and set me up for a big draft for S65. 

 

The draft in S65 was, what I believe, the best draft I’ve had during my time in the VHL. In the first 2 rounds we had 6 picks and were able to snag some of the biggest names in the league at the time. Helmsley, Cole, Matthews, Morozov, Hejtsel, and Stone were huge players in what would hopefully be a cup run. Sadly due to the dumpster fire availability of goalies in the expansion draft for Moscow, Cole was called up immediately and we were left without a clear starting goalie. Because of this, S65 ended up being a middle of the road finish for Yukon and a first round exit. 

 

S66 was a quiet one, most of the players that excelled the season prior were making their way up to the big league. Without many assets and not many picks, Yukon missed this playoff by a large margin but were able to set themselves up well for the next two seasons with draft picks. Coming back into form with the S67 draft, the team was set up to make another big run in to the playoffs. However, the goalie situation was once again not everything it appeared to be. Highly touted prospect Sawchuk failed to report to the team after training camp and wasn’t returning my calls. Luckily Guy showed up at the start of the season and, while not as experienced as Sawchuk, held together an impressive season that got us into the postseason. Once again the team crashed and burned after a dismal first round showing. 

 

The last time we made it to the finals, S68, started off with me thinking it would be a middle of the road finish. It’s funny that the farthest this team has made it was when it most exceeded my expectations. While there wasn’t much super star power on the team, there was a lot of consistency in each position and an amazing defense led by Hunter, Petrovic, and Lindberg. Sadly it all ended being 2 wins away from a title after two strong 4-1 series wins. 

 

While we’ve made it to the playoffs this season, I’m sad to say the first round exits haven’t stopped. Hopefully whoever takes on the role of GM of the Rush after me, can bring the team back to its former glory.

 

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