Kris Rice Trade Request: His Time in Calgary

[Ricer13 2,796]

The History

 

     Calgary Wrangler centre Kris Rice has been a member for his entire VHL career. He started his career playing for the Mississauga Hounds for two seasons and played in a Founders Cup final before moving up to the VHL. When drafted by the Wranglers Kris Rice remembered being disappointed that he had been selected by the Wranglers organization. At the time there was so much negativity across the league about Calgary that anyone who would be selected by them would dread the day they wore that red and white jersey. Rice was no different as he came up through the Mississauga VHLM organization he heard of all the similar rumors that surrounded the Calgary franchise. It had been run at the time by an aging GM who just didn't seem to have the same drive as he once had. The team was in shambles with a GM who showed up once every so often and the players and AGM were left to fend for themselves. Rice stepped into this organization and got to see first hand the chaos that surrounded this organization. First their was the back and forth between the players and the Seattle Bears which is usually a good rivalry but with the aura that surrounded Calgary it only made the players look even worse. Then there was the drama revolving former GM Bushito and AGM Dil that created a rift in the team that was heard across the league. This ended with an AGM who was essentially running the team to get fired. Things only got darker in Calgary as the GM started to become a no show. He would show up in the off season to get his business done and then leave for the season without any indication to the players on the path we were supposed to take. 

When it all Changed

 

         Things in Calgary were grim for a long time and the league wide speculation that Calgary was a terrible place to play wasn't unjustified. Players were ready to sign their rookie contracts and as soon as they ended they were ready to move on. Where things started to change is when Bushito decided to hire @Jubis as the Wranglers AGM which was one of the best moves that Bush ever made. While Bush was off living his normal life Jubis was essentially running this team in Calgary. He began to change the culture in Calgary with his activity, his positivity and his general purpose to make Calgary a better place for players to be. As time went on Bush was eventually let go as the GM of the Calgary Wranglers due to his inactivity in the team and the league. Jubis was moved into the Interim GM position for the remainder of the season and was eventually hired as the full-time GM at the end of the season. Now that Bushito was removed from Calgary and Jubis had taken over that is when the culture of the team began to change the most. He was involved with his players and reassured everyone on a regular basis that he was going to do everything he could to keep this team competitive and that they were. They went to two cup finals which unfortunately they lost but haven't missed the playoffs since he took over. Jubis wasn't the only person to help change the culture of this Calgary team other members and players such as Sigard Gunnar @Big Mac, Mikko Lahtinen @Beketov, Jacques Lafontaine @SlapshotDragon and many other members were pivotal in creating the change in the culture that is now Calgary.

 

The Lasting Impression

    Things are really changing in Calgary. New players are coming in dreading the fact they were drafted by Calgary only to have their thoughts on the team changed as they enter the dressing room and become a part of the new Wrangler family. Former member Mikko Lahtinen had this to say about his time with Calgary, "I won’t pretend that I was happy when the lotto came up with Calgary having the two first picks in S70. At the time Bush had, honestly, ran the team into the ground in my opinion. Drama was high, morale was low, the league looked at us as laughing stock. I figured I would stick out my rookie contract and then bolt. Then I starting talking to the guys. Jubis and Rice and Gunnar and everyone. I saw passion. I saw guys who wanted to be here and deserved better. I truly believe this team got that when Jubis became GM, we picked him for a reason and I believe he can take this team far. I re-signed because I believed that." How incredible is that for someone who plays an important role in this league to have his view changed on a franchise that was once the laughing stock of the league? Next is a statement from a relatively newer member of the team General Zod @Matt_O "When I was first drafted to the wranglers I was not happy, I would of rather been drafted by anyone else, even Seattle, a team I hated. When I was drafted I fully planned on leaving ASAP. Things have really changed since then and this team is actually really good, hopefully other people will begin to understand this as well and Calgary will be a more preferable destination for some players. Perhaps this can be the start of the pro-Calgary movement." Incredible right? Many more players who have been through the Calgary organization recently feel the same way and that is an encouraging thing to see.

Kris Rice

 

        This leads me to where this article started with Kris Rice. He was there through it all and got to experience all of the turmoil and be apart of the change . He played a pivotal role in helping change the way players view this franchise. He ended up resigning with Calgary because he believed that things would turn around and could see that Calgary really wasn't the place everyone else made it out to be. He has been through all the highs playing in multiple finals and experienced all the lows with the turmoil the team went through in his early years but Kris Rice is ready to move on. Kris Rice put a trade request in after Calgary suffered another playoff exit to the hands of the Seattle Bears. He does so with a heavy heart as Calgary has been his home for the past 5 seasons. Don't let the trade request fool you as it has nothing to do with Calgary as a franchise. Rice calls Calgary home now and will forever do so but Kris Rice is hungry for a championship before his career comes to an end and GM Jubis completely understands that. Kris Rice is leaving knowing that he left a positive impact on this team and will continue to do so from the sidelines. He leaves knowing that before to long Calgary will become a destination that players will be excited to call home and hopes to see Calgary lift a trophy in the future. As for now Kris Rice sits in anticipation for the playoffs to end and to find out where he will end up going to chase his dream at a Continental Cup. He wants to personally thank GM Jubis and the Calgary Organization for starting off his career in the VHL and looks forward to battling against them for the next few seasons.  

 

In Closing

     In closing I want to try and change the minds of players who will be drafted by Calgary in the future. There might always be that thought in your mind of "Ugh, why Calgary?" or "Please don't pick me" but try to change the way you feel about the Wranglers.The organization has changed from the way it used to be. It is now a fun and exciting place to play with a great group of players and alumni who have built a strong bond over the seasons competing and getting to know each other. As a matter of fact don't let the fact of being drafted by any team discourage you and don't let the talk surrounded those teams make you regret being drafted by those teams because once you become a part of that franchise your opinion will change. Each team does a good job creating a family within the locker room and once you go through the highs and lows with that team your opinion will be changed on that franchise forever. Trust in your GM's and trust in your commissioners to be able to step in and correct any problems going on within a franchise like they did with Calgary. This league is meant to be a fun pass time for many of us users so lets remember that while we are playing this game to take the time to respect one another as we navigate through our VHL careers. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this, I apologize for dragging this on and turning into a Calgary appreciation thread but I regret nothing!!!
 

WORD COUNT: 1522

 

[Ricer13 2,796]

Claim 1/3

[MexicanCow123 914]

Amazing article Krice. Super excited to see where you'll end up!

[Jubis 1,348]

Wow so many kind words 

 

Thanks @Ricer13

I know you will have lots of success to finish out Kris's career 

 

[Banackock 8,044]

TBH,

 

blue team should remove a season or two from his GMing record. I don’t even know how many times I brought it up that he was basically doing fuck all, hiring an AGM and then using that to pad his stats but it took something like 5-10 seasons to actually have him removed and it shouldn’t of taken that long. I’m sure focus was elsewhere (firing Shawn), then that personal thing made it bad timing etc.
 

He should not have the statistics he does though and it’s disappointing to be sitting at the same totals for wins as him (973)... knowing many other Assistants - NOT JUST JUBIS.. did much more than 50% of the work, most of the time.

 

As for CGY now, they might be getting better but still not champs. I joke. Jubis and I talk fairly regular. Often, weekly. Sometimes even a day to day thing. Point is, we chat lots. I have lots of respect for him as a person. Started off him as a player, fun shit talk. Evolved into fun and respect and here we are. I help him, he does the same somewhat. Good dude. I wish him nothing but 2nd best behind Seattle haha  

Edited September 6, 2020 by Banackock

[fonziGG 1,068]

On 9/6/2020 at 1:13 PM, Banackock said:

fun shit talk.

i thought only we fun shit talk with each other 

 

No I gotta say, Calgary has been so fucking impressive recently. I think Jubis has done a fantastic job in Calgary lol

[CowboyinAmerica 2,889]

On 9/6/2020 at 2:13 PM, Banackock said:

blue team should remove a season or two from his GMing record. I don’t even know how many times I brought it up that he was basically doing fuck all, hiring an AGM and then using that to pad his stats but it took something like 5-10 seasons to actually have him removed and it shouldn’t of taken that long. I’m sure focus was elsewhere (firing Shawn), then that personal thing made it bad timing etc.
 

He should not have the statistics he does though and it’s disappointing to be sitting at the same totals for wins as him (973)... knowing many other Assistants - NOT JUST JUBIS.. did much more than 50% of the work, most of the time.

 

Just saw this one, and wanted to note because I agree - there's definitely precedent for this. Take a look who's awarded the title for S43 Seattle. (Which I have no idea how he was awarded another GM job after going AWOL on both Davos and Seattle, but I digress.)

[Beketov 9,025]

1 minute ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

Which I have no idea how he was awarded another GM job after going AWOL on both Davos and Seattle, but I digress.

We were desperate.

[CowboyinAmerica 2,889]

Just now, Beketov said:

We were desperate.

 

Fair. Could have always given into my long-standing offer that I'd GM if I'm allowed to bring back Vasteras...

[Beketov 9,025]

2 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

 

Fair. Could have always given into my long-standing offer that I'd GM if I'm allowed to bring back Vasteras...

We weren’t that desperate.

 

Also technically he was GM of Stockholm who was Vasteras

[Victor 10,940]

1 hour ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

 

Just saw this one, and wanted to note because I agree - there's definitely precedent for this. Take a look who's awarded the title for S43 Seattle. (Which I have no idea how he was awarded another GM job after going AWOL on both Davos and Seattle, but I digress.)

Jubis would have been awarded the S72 cup if Calgary had won so the same scenario applies. There's no precedent for going back a few seasons because in that case Bash would have fewer Seattle and Davos seasons too.

 

Ultimately he made the trades so on the technicality those are his GM seasons. And tbh if Calgary had won the cup last season, that would have been very much Bash's team and he did a good job building it. Jubis has put his mark on it now though and probably taken it up a level.

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

1 hour ago, Beketov said:

We were desperate.

That's an understatement lol.

 

For some reference, I was the Wranglers GM in the S40s and 50s. Once my drive for GMing passed I was looking to step down, but we had no one in the league who wanted to be the GM. After hanging onto the position two seasons longer than I wanted out of necessity, eventually kesler/brovy took over. He did so horrible in his only season with calgary (he traded the farm for a goalie when project player two made goalies a dime a dozen), that I actually snatched the GM position back from him for a few seasons. After I left I believe we were still desperate for GMs and that is where Bushito came in 

[Kyle 667]

Referring to Bushito's Davos days, it was pretty much a combo of @Phil @Knight and I in group think in the locker room making team decisions for 2 seasons when he went inactive and we were doing well. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Kyle

[Phil 5,119]

14 hours ago, Kyle said:

Referring to Bushito's Davos days, it was pretty much a combo of @Phil @Knight and I in group think in the locker room making team decisions for 2 seasons when he went inactive and we were doing well. 

 

We fucking rocked that casbah !

[Ricer13 2,796]

Claim 2/3

[Ricer13 2,796]

Claim 3/3

[Xflexz 179]

Incredible article! Its very visually appealing and structured in a satisfying way. There is noting I could recommend for this to improve it so 10/10 great job!