The Final Curtain Call - The End of an Era

[InstantRockstar 1,224]

 

But in all seriousness, I just want to start off by saying thank you, to every single person who put their faith in me over the last year and a bit to lead a team in the VHLM. I was very blessed to get a team, as my name wasn’t great around the league after a super long hiatus, and I know I pushed a lot of people’s buttons along the way, it wasn’t until recently, the last season or two of my GMing career that I changed my ways to showcase how I can truly be, and my personality, etc.

 

So how did we get here? Well… let’s hop back to the end of the S65 season when the VHLM commissioners (at the time) Bana & D_A made the decision after league approval for expansion. At the time I was an AGM with Josh in Yukon and had been for going on two seasons. I’m not sure if Josh ever mentioned my name when they were looking for GMs but I put my name in the hat, and instantly messaged D_A since I was familiar with him and had a super long chat. One thing led to another, and then it was finally announced that there were 3 teams joining the league, Mexico, San Diego and Mississauga. Mexico and Mississauga were filled and I remember laughing when D_A told me “no one likes San Diego’s logo, it’s their third choice for a team, would you be okay with them?”. I was just grateful to be getting a team, so absolutely I took it. Fast forward a bit more, and we ended up at the expansion draft.

 

EXPANSION DRAFT:

2^nd round pick (LVA) – turned into Birdman (Samuel Sparrow, 183 TPE IA defender, retired)

3^rd round pick (YUK) – turned into Big_Mac (Andrei Mikhailov, 195 TPE IA forward, retired)

4^th round pick S67 (OTT) – will be mentioned in the S67 breakdown

 

Overall, that season we had two guys who made competing possible, based on all of our other picks we had gathered through trades and such, it seemed pretty promising. After the initial expansion, I was a part of the next 9 drafts, which were amazing, and I just want to thank…a lot of people for making it memorable, so here comes the tags (sorry!).

 

S66 Draft:

Phil Marleau @Phil 

Edgar Tannahill @gregreg

Greg Eagles @Greg_Di

Samuel Sparrow @Birdman

Andrei Mikhailov @Big Mac

Dean Clarke @Kyle

Scotty BigShotty @FerdaJets

Ludvig Sederstrom @aleks

 

This was the first ever team iced for San Diego. @Phil was the first ever Marlins selection with the 5th overall pick and made history with the franchise and the league as such. This inaugural team would finish 7th in the league (no divisions yet) with 84 points and a record of 40-28-4 and 84 points to our name. We would go on to be swept in the quarter finals by the Halifax 21st but nevertheless, we made the playoffs in our first season and from this crop, 6 would make it to the VHL, a very high retainment rate long-term. 

 

S67 Draft: 

NO ONE

 

Yeah so...year two was kind of nuts. After decided to just go balls to the wall and draft everyone in our inaugural year, we ended up having 0 picks in the S67 draft. Now, most people thought to count this team out, but we were far from it. Instead, we would again finish in the 7th spot in the league (still no divisions) with a record of 26-38-8 and 60 points. We would however be swept again in the quarter finals, this time by the Philadelphia Reapers. From this roster, a total of 7 players would make it to the VHL, and despite no draft picks, that was a huge outcome for the team, as this means it was all through recruiting. 

 

S68 Draft: 

Chad Gilbert @Fire_In_Babylon

Will Clarke @Will

Marcus Nygren @Devise

Raleigh Ritchie @DangerGolding

Daldo @Harpskii

King Kruul @LefLop

Richard Fitzwell @Tomato Soup

 

A fairly deep draft left San Diego poised and ready to compete for the third straight year in a row. While it wasn't going to be easy, San Diego did their best to come together and in doing so, managed to once again clinch a playoff birth. For the third straight season, they would finish 7th in the league, a record of 38-31-3 and 79 points. Just like deja-vu, the team would be knocked out again in the quarter finals, but this time they actually won 2 games, going out in 6 to the Las Vegas Aces. Every single pick from this draft class would move on to the VHL level in some degree, thus making it the best recruiting/draft class San Diego has ever had. 

 

S69 Draft: 

NO ONE

 

So seemingly like a pattern, every other year thus far, we've drafted no one. But did we learn from the mistake of counting out San Diego despite no draft? Noooo, we were once again poised to suck and written off by many... instead, we'd make the playoffs again. Unfortunately the index for the regular season is broken, and the portal doesn't go back this far, but I can say we got the 6th seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately again, for the fourth straight year, we'd be eliminated in the quarter finals, this time only in 5 games to the Mexico City Kings. The team would have an undisclosed amount of players go to the VHL (fuck the broken index lol). 

 

S70 Draft: 

Kyl Oferson @Nykonax

Roque Davis @Josh

Thomas Landry II @Doomsday

Ike Bennett @Caboose30

JaredN @jared

Nikita Kulikovich @Lockdown Defense

Dax Lewis (user no longer exists) 

 

This draft was super top-heavy, and it was no surprise that San Diego once again wanted to compete, and compete we did. This was our best season thus far, 5 seasons in and we have now amassed a 2nd place finish in the league (still... no divisions lol) with a record of 58-10-4 and 104 points. The team finally made it out of the quarterfinals with a sweep to Yukon but sadly were sent packing by Ottawa Lynx who eventually lost the cup to Minnesota. Every single player on this list made it to the VHL, most of them have since retired and recreated. 

 

S71 Draft: 

Zamboni Driver (Tape-to-Tape)

Jungkok @tfong

 

Yeah, on the forefront of this draft...and this season, I wish I could forget it haha. Not for the team, just for all the drama and shit I caused and just the shit in general, was not a fun a season for me, I was half-tempted just to leave the team cause I didn't wanna deal with the drama, but alas here we are. The team added a ton of huge pieces via trades and waivers and as such, actually had a pretty damn good year, finishing 6th in the league (3rd in their division!) with a record of 42-28-2 and 86 points. The team would once again go to the semi finals, this time being eliminated by the Ottawa Lynx who would actually go on to win the cup finally. From this crop, 4 players would go on to make it to the VHL. 

 

S72 Draft: 

NO ONE

 

So that trend seems to continue, draft a lot of players, draft a few players, draft no players. Now, it's worked out in the past right so you'd think "oh, IR has this, no big deal". WRONG. This truly was a down year for us as we finished 11th in the league (last in the division) with a record of 10-60-2 and 22 points, this was an all-time low for the team and the first time we did not qualify for the playoffs. No one from this team would go on to make a VHL team. 

 

S73 Draft: 

John Merrick @Steve

John LeClair II @flyersfan1453

Ryan Schwarz @Enorama

Doug Dimmadome @Esso2264

Lucifer Olivier Leveque @InstantRockstar

Lester Green @Smarch

Bjorn Wilhelm von Luxembourg @d3vilsfire

Calvin Harvey (MrPenguin)

Nathaniel N @NathanN

Logan Hoffman @nickthe00

 

Some steals in this draft really made the Marlins this year super deep. One of the strongest teams since S70 in my personal opinion and just an excellent crop of guys to have in the locker room. The team would end up finishing 5th in the league (2nd in division) with a record of 51-19-2 and 104 points. Once again the team would make it to the semi finals, but lose to the Miami Marauders. Every single player from the draft this year made it to the VHL. 

 

S74 Draft: 

NO ONE

 

With this draft, we didn't pick anyone. As we've seen in the past, this was either going to go good...or bad. And unfortunately, it went quite bad. While we had some excellent waiver pickups, the lack of pick-ups really ended up hurting us and because of that, we had our worse season yet... finishing 11th place (last in division) with a record of 9-58-5 and 23 points. For obvious reasons again, we did not make the playoffs and due to our team being mainly recruits and IA's, we had no one go up to the VHL. 

 

S75 Draft: 

Cowboy Prout @Cowboy

Scotty Kaberle @fromtheinside

Nero Endrizzi @TurnDaddy

Red Lite @Tate

Nikolas DAndrea @Nikdandrea34

Frank Funk Jr @Rayzor_7

Gunnar Odinsson @BOOM

Kaladin Kvothe @DangerGolding

Phil The Rock Johnson @Phil

Jaroslav Petr

Patrik Ipsen @BiPsen

 

And here we are...present day. This draft...was the deepest I've seen in 10 seasons, deeper than the S68 draft which I felt was quite deep with talent. Tag on that we added some amazing key waivers in @Mr_Hatterand @OrbitingDeath and we had one of the most solid on-ice teams at least in my mind. There was a ton of terrifying teams this season as proven with Mexico and Philadelphia, that being said we still managed to end up 3rd in the league (2nd in division) with a record of 51-19-2 and 104 points. Unfortunately the pipe dream of winning a cup was once again destroyed when Philadelphia knocked us out in the semi's once again. 9 of my players will appear in the VHL next season. 

 

So to recap...

8 playoff appearances in 10 seasons 

0 cups. 

38 VHL produced players (retainment of 96% players who crossed through SDM)

 

And why am I telling you this? Well... as the title says, the run has finally come to an end, and this is indeed my final curtain call as the San Diego Marlins GM. After 10 long seasons, I am officially stepping down as the GM. I want to again thank everyone who made this dream possible, I want to especially thank every single amazing player who came into our LR and made it what it was season after season, and most importantly I want to thank the VHL for giving me a chance to be a GM in the M, for believing in me even when I was a little shit, and for allowing me to continue to keep this place going by retaining our damn fine members. 

 

I can only hope the future is bright here, but for now, catch LOL making jokes on the ice with the Seattle Bears for the foreseeable future. 

 

Rockstar...out! 

 

[rory 1,768]

Sad to see one of the best in the m f game leave. Big shoes to fill in San Diego. Enjoy the retirement home, old man

[Dom 1,444]

I am still pretty new in the league but San Diego was a scary team this season and I wish you good luck for what comes next!

[BOOM 8,447]

[Banackock 7,738]

What they said. Good GM. Should have a VHL gig eventually? Maybe? No? VHLM tenure does not help get a VHL job at all? 

 

[Prout 373]

IR I love you man. Much respect as a whole and when you get a VHL team I know you’ll succeed and do well! Thank you for the memories and the love I have for the Marlins. Whoever gets that job has massive shoes to fill  thank you for everything 

[STZ 5,295]

Good job, IR. Definitely a resume of VHL graduates to be proud of. Awesome to see you have a solid successful run.

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

Though it's sad to see you step down, I really want to congratulate you for one hell of a run as a GM. I respect you a lot as an AGM looking from afar and as a first gen looking to take the next step myself. You've done an amazing job in San Diego and I wish you the best of luck in the future

[InstantRockstar 1,224]

19 minutes ago, Tate said:

 

You da man @InstantRockstar, I hope to see you as a VHL GM soon!

Thank you Tate, having your two players as a dream come true haha, Lincoln and Red are elite! 
 

19 minutes ago, rory said:

Sad to see one of the best in the m f game leave. Big shoes to fill in San Diego. Enjoy the retirement home, old man

respect Rory! Go out and get yourself a spot one day too eh? You deserve it! Also visit me in the retirement home, I don't wanna be loney! 
 

15 minutes ago, domg5 said:

I am still pretty new in the league but San Diego was a scary team this season and I wish you good luck for what comes next!

Thank you for the kind words   San Diego was a lot of fun!
 

13 minutes ago, BOOM said:

 RIP the Boomshack...haha
 

11 minutes ago, Banackock said:

What they said. Good GM. Should have a VHL gig eventually? Maybe? No? VHLM tenure does not help get a VHL job at all? 

 

Would be the next dream come true for sure
 

5 minutes ago, Prout said:

IR I love you man. Much respect as a whole and when you get a VHL team I know you’ll succeed and do well! Thank you for the memories and the love I have for the Marlins. Whoever gets that job has massive shoes to fill  thank you for everything 

You've been a pleasure to have on the team, easily one of the most eager first gens I've ever met haha. 
 

5 minutes ago, STZ said:

Good job, IR. Definitely a resume of VHL graduates to be proud of. Awesome to see you have a solid successful run.

Thanks STZ, they did all the heavy lifting, I just made the team come to life, they did the rest. So proud of every single player! 
 

3 minutes ago, JigglyGumballs said:

Though it's sad to see you step down, I really want to congratulate you for one hell of a run as a GM. I respect you a lot as an AGM looking from afar and as a first gen looking to take the next step myself. You've done an amazing job in San Diego and I wish you the best of luck in the future

 appreciate the kind words, you're an excellent AGM with an excellent GM teaching ya, I have no doubt you'll be in the GM seat soon! 

[mattyIceman 1,081]

Well rockstar, I'll be waiting for your encore performance haha

[bigAL 2,176]

Well done IR. You had some incredibly challenging seasons in San Diego but always powered through it with optimism and hard work. Good job knowing when to call it quits and going out on your own terms. Thanks for making the M the great place it is!

[fromtheinside 1,278]

was an honour to play for the Marlins this season. Great LR. Great leadership. Seems like you had an amazing tenure of the seasons in SDM.  All the best in your future endeavors IR, including your newest one on the way at home

[Caboose30 152]

Best of luck Rockstar, although you are stepping down here, I still have plenty of sim leagues that intertwine with you.

[Toast 887]

10/10 congrats on the solid tenure IR! You've been around for as long as I've been doing this stuff and you seem to have built a solid resume here for your GM skills. This was well written and it was nice to see you tag each member for the run-through on draft successes.

[Greg_Di 949]

Great GM, was a pleasure playing for you with both my guys!

Hopefully you will get a VHL shot soon and show what you can do on the big stage!

[jared 66]

i am going to miss you IR good luck with whatever comes your way . i hope to see you around still . 

thank you for all you have done, i am so thankful for our time together and everything you have taught me.

[LefLop 45]

Sad to see you go with me coming back, but I have a feeling this wont be the last time I see you around .

 

Cheers, @InstantRockstar

[InstantRockstar 1,224]

1 hour ago, MattyIce said:

Well rockstar, I'll be waiting for your encore performance haha

I'll get the band prepared in your honor! 
 

1 hour ago, bigAL said:

Well done IR. You had some incredibly challenging seasons in San Diego but always powered through it with optimism and hard work. Good job knowing when to call it quits and going out on your own terms. Thanks for making the M the great place it is!

Thank you AL! Going out on my own was always the way to go haha, now I can just dream for a bright future. Good luck to you AL, show the VHLM what you got! 

57 minutes ago, fromtheinside said:

was an honour to play for the Marlins this season. Great LR. Great leadership. Seems like you had an amazing tenure of the seasons in SDM.  All the best in your future endeavors IR, including your newest one on the way at home

Always a pleasure to have you, one hell of a pick I'll still never regret trading for.  
 

13 minutes ago, Caboose30 said:

Best of luck Rockstar, although you are stepping down here, I still have plenty of sim leagues that intertwine with you.

Thanks Boose, you know where to find me  + I'm still here

 

5 minutes ago, Toast said:

10/10 congrats on the solid tenure IR! You've been around for as long as I've been doing this stuff and you seem to have built a solid resume here for your GM skills. This was well written and it was nice to see you tag each member for the run-through on draft successes.

Thanks Toast! We've been doing it a long...long time, you ain't wrong there haha. I still have that passion for it, insanely enough! 
 

30 minutes ago, jared said:

i am going to miss you IR good luck with whatever comes your way . i hope to see you around still . 

thank you for all you have done, i am so thankful for our time together and everything you have taught me.

Not leaving the league I'll still be here to chat I promise! 
 

25 minutes ago, LefLop said:

Sad to see you go with me coming back, but I have a feeling this wont be the last time I see you around .

 

Cheers, @InstantRockstar

I can't escape you Lef, I can't! LOL jkjk, I know where you find you! 

[mattyIceman 1,081]

You really do have a knack for knowing what to say.  Class act.  That's what makes you the Rockstar

[Phil 5,025]

Start your San Diego Marlins tenure with @Tate and me 

End your San Diego Marlins tenure with @Tate and me.

 

Seems pretty great to me! All the best in the future bud  

[InstantRockstar 1,224]

14 hours ago, MattyIce said:

You really do have a knack for knowing what to say.  Class act.  That's what makes you the Rockstar

Only in certain situations, I think that's been proven before lol! 
 

57 minutes ago, Phil said:

Start your San Diego Marlins tenure with @Tate and me 

End your San Diego Marlins tenure with @Tate and me.

 

Seems pretty great to me! All the best in the future bud  

Would agree, can't hurt to have two epic members help me start and end my reign as GM! Thanks for making it a fun one