Word Count (Part 1): 3501
Part 3 of 3

General Management of the SHL - A Biopsy of the League’s Most Influential Position

Part 3: On the Future of the GM Position

This is part three of a three-part article. In the previous articles, I looked to empirically examine whether or not the team management position is experiencing an increasingly high turnover rate, and if this turnover is supplemented by a suitable amount of replacements or not, and whether it is getting harder for the League to find proper applicants for the opening positions. I also talked to members of the site, and shared their personal perspectives on some potential problems and challenges the team management positions are currently facing.

In this third and final installment of the article, I hope to end things on a more positive note, taking a present glance at some recent changes by the league to hopefully address these potential hiring issues, and hypothesize what might be the next step for the SHL as a whole in regards to its very identity as a community.


Potential Addresses to these causes: A glimpse of the future

Recently (in the middle of my initial composition of this article to be exact), Commissioner @WannabeFinn came out with a state of the union post that outlined some major changes to the upcoming SHL seasons, as well as highlighting some structural things and the league mindset moving forward. This was generally met with hopeful praise, given the content of the post, but I’d like to go over a couple of the major points in this article, and analyze whether or not they address some of the concerns brought up in this media piece, and may positively contribute to the potential GM hiring pool.
The link to the full S65 State of the Union post can be found here -
https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=124185

Point 1: Addressing FHM6 and Test-simming Burnout
(direct quote from WBF, emphasis mine)

“Beginning in S66, the SHL and SMJHL will transition to Franchise Hockey Manager 8. It’s hard to overstate how much work and preparation have gone into the decision to pull the trigger on this change, from back-end/index work to hours of testing to ensure that this will be a significant positive improvement for the league. The work done on this predates many members of head office, and will continue throughout this coming season as we prepare to make the change. We know that you are likely to have a lot of questions and/or concerns about this change, and we welcome those discussions. We will have more information on this switch in the coming weeks, but for now, I wanted to communicate the official timeline on this. We will be looking at all options on the table when it comes to restricting access to test simming on FHM8. The test simming culture that has developed over the past several years has become a detriment to the overall league experience and a deterrent for aspiring GM’s, and we hope that we can mitigate these issues.”

Once again, the SHL will be switching its sim engine, but this time it will be a linear progression to the newest iteration of FHM, installment number 8. There are a lot of moving parts here, and it is somewhat worrisome that this echoes the sudden next offseason change in sim engine like the old STHS-to-FHM6 switch two years ago. However, the goal here was explicitly stated - HO, or at least the Commissioner, distinctly recognizes what the GMs observed, that “test simming culture” is actively harming the league experience. A specific mention of it being a deterrent to hiring aspirant GMs tied in nicely with this article, and personally I think that this is the correct attitude to approach the league from the top-down. I will withhold judgment to see if the change to FHM8 itself is what addresses this, but the intent of WBF and HO seems to be coming from the right place to handle these issues.
GMs largely agreed, with a sense of cautious optimism, most of them remembering their similar initial positive feelings after the switch from STHS. One GM offered some specific foresight:
“I could be wrong, but from my understanding FHM8 will not only shift the meta but also significantly inhibit if not completely eliminate the automation testing some teams have employed to gain a knowledge gap.”
If this quote turns out to be true, it would be a massive win for potential managers to simply not have to devote larger blocks of time to test simming, and be able to focus on the more realistic managerial aspects of the job. Any other slight parity increases would be a bonus after that point. Once again, this is a “wait-and-see” change, but has the massive potential to address one of the largest cited reasons for GM burnout - test simming on FHM6.

Point 2: Addressing Parity
(direct quote from WBF, emphasis mine)

Minimum Salary Tier Adjustments
“Beginning in S67, contracts will be reviewed and adjusted yearly on the first day of the league year (the day free agency opens) to reflect the TPE tier a player is actually in. Previously, players in Tiers 1-6 could be signed for up to three seasons at the TPE tier they were in at the beginning of that contract. We have seen instances of players with well over 1,000 TPE playing on salaries as low as $2,000,000, no hometown discount or retention necessary. Starting in S67, contracts will be adjusted prior to each season for players who have moved into a tier that requires a greater salary to satisfy the minimum. For example, if a player has 1200 TPE at the beginning of S67 and is signed to a three-year deal at the Tier 5 minimum of $4,000,000 per season, but earns past 1300 TPE prior to the start of S68, their contract will be adjusted to the Tier 6 minimum ($5,000,000) for that season (S68). This change only applies to players who are going up a contract tier, it does not affect players who may regress into a lower tier. It’s our hope that this change will provide a much-needed nudge in the way of player movement and boost the value of younger, cheaper players. We hope that providing 2 full seasons of advance notice will reduce the likelihood of any last minute budgetary issues. We will continue to monitor the salary cap and how it functions, as it is a key tool for maintaining the health and competitiveness of the league.”

This specifically addresses the comment one anonymously-quoted GM made about the “balkanization of the league” (bonus points to that person for using balkanization in a sentence), and foster more of a league-wide community with competitive aspects, rather than a competition/arms race/tribal system at the expense of that community. I had a couple of GMs comment on this piece, and so far it is a relatively polarizing proposal - while some GMs agreed that there needed to be a little more player movement to grow the league community, as well as hopefully increasing parity a little bit, others thought that the changes were needless. “People who are forced out due to salary cap are more likely to just retire to go back to a team with their friends than seriously consider FA”, one GM commented.

Some more comments on the impending (or already implemented) league changes from GMs:

“The changes and clarifications to the rulebooks that the head offices have been working on for the better part of two years, as far as I know, has developed a lot [in regards to making GM tasks easier/clearer]. I felt pretty good about it when I was a GM”.

“I’d say [the difficulty of the GM role] has stayed about the same for the last three years/seasons. If anything, it’s maybe gotten easier thanks to the work of the commissioners”.

“I will applaud HO on recently increasing pay and giving out PT passes to make things easier on GMs”.

“I think most of the systemic functional parts of the job [Team management] have been fixed over time. Pick tracking is better, HO is more responsive, GM tasks are better defined, tools like the bank system make prospect development way easier, budget team is more effective than they used to be. Quite frankly if you’re stuck in a rebuild or something the actual GMing part of the job can be extremely hand-off without having meaningful impacts on the team’s performance which I think is a good thing”.

Overall, managers seemed to positively (or at least neutrally) view their interactions with HO members in recent years, and were overall optimistic of many of the changes that have occurred over the last little while, and the changes that are slotted for the future. They certainly had more positive things to say about HO than they did their fellow GMs, which once again indicates that these physical changes the league (rulebook-wise) sees are overall steering things in a constructive direction. The main macro-issue seems to be that in some instances, the management groups of the league differ in opinion on what the main focus the job of General Manager of a team should be, and there is some conflict as to how much the spirit of the league should be honoured first if it is to remain a healthy and sustainable community.

This piece also needs to come with a reminder - unlike the NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, who is largely a figurehead who is a public face for the wills and wishes of the NHL owners - the role of Commissioner in the SHL represents the face of the league and HO, and represents the very real influence of those who are in charge of picking the direction for where the league is going, and what it may become. Given the two pieces I quoted from WBF, it appears that this ideological quandary of the League is beginning to be talked about at the higher level where changes in policy are made, rather than solely by users in Thunderdome posts.

While not directly expressing it, the “justification” portion of WBF’s S65 offseason changes indicated that one of the most important things right now, beyond the physical day-to-day management of HO (which according to most managers has been steadily improving and building upon itself), is establishing and reinforcing the identity of the league - whatever that may be. Those appointed to head positions in the league do not have the NHL’s burden of earning money, or getting TV deals, or trying to expand the game to the Sun Belt of the United States. They are not being paid real dollars for this. Their position, which they devote their own time and energies to, eventually boils down to ensuring that the SHL can build a community that will have happy and healthy members through a love of generated stats about hockey, playing for teams that are our own creation. We have opportunities for anyone on this planet to be able to log on, make an account, and immediately begin contributing. Like contributing to the many roles that keep this site running such as updating, forum moderating, banking, and especially simming, but also roles that give the SHL identity, culture, and life. Graphic designs created by users to encapsulate the values of an online sports team in creative and vibrant colours, and give real life to the logos and designs of these teams. Historians that are curating and compiling statistics for everything from hallowed record books to inspiration for history-themed articles (a few of which I’ve written!). To media writers who take time to create an on or off-ice image of a hockey player, be they from Canada, Austria, Ireland, Romania, Antarctica, the Moon, or the Mushroom Kingdom. Players that are modelled after Sidney Crosby, Roope Hintz, Ben Bishop, Admiral Ackbar, the demigod Maui, a walrus in hockey gear, or a literal cup of Ramen Noodles.
And above all, the facilitators who take charge in their own communities, connecting with other people and talking on discord about the sim itself, IRL hockey, DnD, food, or anything else you might just want to chat about or express yourself with. This is what takes the structure of a sim league with hockey flair, and makes a community out of it. Most SHL members don’t just sit at the computer, or on their phone, crunching through updates to change some of their players numbers so that they will produce other higher or lower numbers for a sim.
The SHL is, and should be actively incentivized to be, a team activity that brings people from all over the world together with a common interest, and keeps them active here because we can be awesome people. When we encourage and incentivize players to have the time and energy to contribute and participate in the community in creative ways that interest them, in ways that add something more to the league, that is when we are achieving the axiological goals of the site’s existence.

In short, the SHL is at a crossroads of identity. Do we acknowledge that a perceived lack of parity is harming the site? Do we actively try to fight managers or players having success? @Henrik articulated an important question for the league moving forward:
“That’s something we have to decide on as a community. Where do we draw the line? Should we be actively handicapping users that aren’t tech savvy or should we expect them to learn if they want to succeed? Is that realistic in our league?... Our strength is and always has been the community and the players and I think we should celebrate that.”

Conclusion/Send off

This article was a little set up from the start of the first part to be very doom-and-gloom, with me leading with the observation that league management positions seemed to be harder to fill, and perhaps I am “begging the question” by deliberately looking for a problem that causes this, and asking the members quoted here what they personally think is harming GM applications. However, I can come out of this feeling a little more enlightened into some of the social functions of the league, and how they might impact the hiring and development of good GMs. There will always be turnover due to real life, and a flow of new voices in management is always a good thing. But the amount of replies I got indicating that the person wanted to stay in the role, and had the time to do it, but left after a souring experience with parity or a negative culture, was saddening to hear multiple times. With this in mind, I want to highlight something imperatively important - almost EVERYONE I talked to had the attitude that GMing had many amazing qualities to it inherently, but that the specific grievances they perceived were things that made it not worth the enjoyment. To paraphrase philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (yes, I teach Philosophy, and I’m damn well going to weasel it in here), “True happiness is the elimination of misery, rather than the maximization of pleasure”. There were plenty of things about management that each person made emphasis of, and there is legitimate appeal to an amazing community position in the league. Many GMs complimented the recent changes by HO to give the position more positive appeal, which was cited as being both 'necessary and good', but in terms of not preemptively pushing away potential users who would make great GMs and have the free time, there are some negative obstacles that will likely need to be lessened or eliminated to see a stronger positive culture change. Removing the bad typically gives you far more “bang for your buck” than good incentivization to create overall happiness for the management position.

With that being said, I wanted to take the time to highlight a so far underrepresented part of this article so far - what GMs and Co-GMs enjoy (or enjoyed) most about their time in one of, if not the, most important jobs in the league. Below is a compilation of quotes I thought embodied the positive aspects of the role, as well as a couple of personal messages to potential GMs from those who have already enjoyed the position.

“I love my team, my alumni, and my locker room. They give me some of the most joy in this league. Our LR is always full of people bullshitting about almost anything but SHL, unless there is a sim active. We have so many inside jokes, we know each other's families, dogs, siblings, life stories, and stuff. We are very close and I think that's the most important thing for me in this league.” - @SDCore

"I really liked GMing for the most part. I didn’t think I would enjoy the culture building as much as I did but it was really rewarding. I really enjoy drafting and scouting. For me, the week or so leading up to the draft is the best. You get to talk to a ton of new people, you get to interact with other GM’s in a pretty friendly way for the most part and it’s genuinely a really good time”. - @Henrik

“Feeling like I made a difference in someone’s SHL experience is what was really rewarding about the position. I loved getting to meet new people and build a community in the team LR. I loved the sense of comradery in both the team I was building as well as the management groups I surrounded myself with. I loved watching things develop and change behind the scenes. Also drafting as a GM is some of my favorite memories in the league”. - @SpartanGibbles

“I loved how real it felt to GM a team. You have to deal with their personalities in the LR in addition to the requirements around scouting, trading, and generally building a roster. It was very rewarding to have a late round pick become a steal. It was also very rewarding to build a team with a fun group of people and see some success in the sim”. - @LordBirdman

“I love the SMJHL GMing because I’m directly in a development role. I love bringing in new folks and getting them accustomed to the league and seeing them go on to bigger and better things, getting jobs on the site, becoming respected members, etc. That’s my favorite part”. - @Ragnar

“I love being in a position of responsibility in the league and it is my way of giving back to the site which is otherwise entirely free.” - @Acsolap

“I loved getting to know the people. For the most part, the SHL has built up a really solid community… I really do enjoy my time here, and I want to see it continue to be a cool thing. Getting to work within my team and with the SMJHL Head Office to make the league a better place from my vantage was another huge draw for me.” - @Blitz

“I love being a General Manager. I love managing and building a team, interacting with the players and other users, and all in all I just really enjoy the team aspects of being a General Manager… All I can do is try to make my team the most enjoyable that I can, and hope that it is enough to keep players coming back to the league every week”. - @FuzzSHL

“In the SMJHL the best thing was to work with firstgens and prep them for the SHL. Help them build and develop their players and try to figure out what kind of person/player they are. Also the turnover time of the team was fun as players were called up after 3 or 4 seasons. So you had to have short term planning/vision for the franchise. In the SHL the best part was long term bonding of the team and long term vision. I’m grateful to have done both”. - @Katth

“I really would encourage anyone to give it a chance. Start off in WJC, which is usually a person's first experience to being a team general manager. Get involved in your team's war-room to see the ins and outs of decision making, as well as rule enforcement (every positive has a negative). The worst thing that can happen, is that you become a GM and then after experiencing it for a couple seasons you decide ‘nah, this isn't for me’. 

But, if you never take the few minutes it takes to formally apply for a position that opens up.  If you never test yourself and the waters...you'll never really know what you can really do.” - @Chevy


Thank you for reading this ponderous tome of compiled quotes and commentary! I hope it was, at the very least, informative as a conversation starter. I feel like this has definitely opened up my personal perspective on potentially GMing (if I now ever get the free time), as well as allowing me to step back and self-evaluate what I think the ultimate ideals and overall philosophy of the league should emulate. As always, I would love to hear your perspective.

Take care, SHL.

-Rancidbudgie

Thank you to Ham and Sulo for the sigs!

Jon Tellofsen, Defenseman for LAP/BUF/CAL/TEX/MIN (RETIRED)
Drafted 52nd OA in S38 SMJHL Draft by the St. Louis Scarecrows
Drafted 11th OA in S39 SHL Draft by the Minnesota Chiefs
4-Star Cup Winner (St. Louis S39)

Basil Magnicotta, Defenseman for St. Louis and New Orleans (RETIRED)
Drafted 33rd OA in S45 SMJHL Draft by the St. Louis Scarecrows
Drafted 53rd OA in S45 SHL Draft by the New Orleans Specters
Two-time 4-star Cup Winner (St. Louis S45 and S46)
WJC Gold Medal with Team World (S45)
Three-time Ondrej Ravchitikov Award winner (S47, S48, S49)
S55: Ravchitikov Award Re-named to Basil Magnicotta Award

Nicolae Antonescu, Goaltender for St. Louis and San Francisco (RETIRED)
Drafted 26th OA in S54 SMJHL Draft by the St. Louis Scarecrows
Drafted 27th OA in S55 SHL Draft by the San Francisco Pride
Named to SMJHL All-Rookie Team (S54)
Four time Friedrich Schmidt Award Winner (S54, S55, S56, S57)
SMJHL All-Star, 1st Team (S56)
Nominee for Ryan Jesster Award (S58)
Named to SHL All-Rookie Team (S58)
Named to SHL All-Star Roster (2nd Team) (S59)
Nominee for John McBride Award (S59)
Named to SHL All-Star Roster (2nd Team) (S61)
Nominee for John McBride Award (S61)
IIHF Silver medal with Switzerland (S63)
Named to SHL All-Star Roster (S65)
Winner of John McBride Award (S65)
IIHF Gold medal with Switzerland (S65)

Ignacio Garza, Winger for Anchorage and San Francisco
Claimed on entry waivers by Anchorage during the S67 SMJHL season
Drafted 20th OA in the S68 Draft by the San Francisco Pride
 


Jon Tellofsen, General Manager and Coach
S54 - WJC GM (Team Finland) - 8-5-1 Record - Bronze medal
S55 - WJC GM (Team DACH) - 7-5-1 Record - Quarterfinals
S56 - WJC GM (Team DACH) - 8-4-1 Record - Quarterfinals
S57 - WJC GM (Team DACH) - 10-3-1 Record - Quarterfinals
S58 - WJC GM (Team DACH) - 12-3-0 Record - Silver Medal
S59 - WJC GM (Team DACH) - 12-2-1 Record - Gold Medal
S60 - WJC GM (Team DACH) - 10-4-1 Record - Bronze Medal
S61 - WJC GM (Team Finland) - 10-4-1 Record - Bronze medal
- WJC Career as GM - 77-30-7 Record -

I like gming

Aleksandr Iskandrov || C || Hamilton Steelhawks || Vancouver Whalers || 806 TPE
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SMJHL Career Stats
S64: GP: 66 G: 6 A: 17 P: 23
S65: GP: 66 G: 11 A: 35 P: 46
S66: GP: 66 G: 37 A: 51 P: 88
S67: GP: 66 G: 35 A: 52 P: 87
TOTAL: GP: 264 G: 89 A: 155 P: 244
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SMJHL Playoff Stats
S64: GP: 12 G: 2 A: 4 P: 6
S65: GP: 4 G: 0 A: 2 P: 2
S66: GP: 11 G: 3 A: 8 P: 11
S67: GP: 5 G: 3 A: 2 P: 5
TOTAL: GP: 32 G: 8 A: 16 P: 24
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SMJHL Achievements
S67 Wollker Division Champion
S66 Jared Hanson Trophy (Regular Season Points Leader)
S66 Raymond Lindsay Trophy - Award Given to the Most Outstanding Player as Voted by the Players
S66 Ideen Fallah Trophy - Award Given to the Most Outstanding Player as Voted by the Awards Committee
S66 All Star Team
S67 All Star Team
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WJC stats
S64 ICE: GP: 12 G: 3 A: 4 P: 7
S65 RCL: GP: 12 G: 1 A: 3 P: 4
S66 RCL: GP: 12 G: 6 A: 3 P: 9
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IIHF stats
S67 RUS: GP: 12 G: 1 A: 0 P: 1
S68 JPN: GP: 12 G: 2 A: 1 P: 3
S69 JPN: GP: 12 G: 2 A: 3 P: 5
S70 JPN: GP: 12 G: 4 A: 1 P: 5
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IIHF Playoff stats
S67 RUS: GP: 3 G: 0 A: 0 P: 0
S69 JPN: GP: 1 G: 0 A: 1 P: 5
S70 JPN: GP: 3 G: 4 A: 1 P: 5
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IIHF Achievements
S70 JPN: Bronze Medal (General Manager and Player)
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SHL Statistics
S68 HAM: GP: 66 G: 23 A: 30 P: 53
S69 HAM: GP: 66 G: 20 A: 30 P: 50
S70 HAM: GP: 66 G: 35 A: 46 P: 81
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SHL Achievements

What an amazing read. Thank you for the incredible effort behind this, as well as the people who took the time to respond. This was a fantastic read

                    John Brown | RD | TBB
570 TPE, 6'3, 204 lbs.
S67 - Drafted 1OA by the Nevada Battleborn
S68 - SMJHL All-Star
S68 - Drafted 6OA by the Tampa Bay Barracuda
S69 - SMJHL All-Star
S69 - SMJHL All Defense Team
S69 - Alexis Metzler Award
S70 - SMJHL All-Star

S66 Damian Littleton

      Joseph Weston || Winger || Los Angeles Panthers        
Joseph Weston || Winger || Los Angeles Panthers        
                                  1885 Peak TPE, 6'1", 202 Lbs.
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Regular Season Stats:
S49 | MTL | GP: 50 | G: 08 | A: 03 | P: 11 | +/-: 03 | MP: 621
S50 | CAR | GP: 50 | G: 17 | A: 22 | P: 39 | +/-: 02 | MP: 766
S51 | CAR | GP: 50 | G: 20 | A: 28 | P: 48 | +/-: 25 | MP: 807
S52 | CAR | GP: 50 | G: 19 | A: 20 | P: 39 | +/-: 08 | MP: 957
S53 | CGY | GP: 50 | G: 10 | A: 19 | P: 29 | +/-: 11 | TOI: 17:06
S54 | CGY | GP: 50 | G: 06 | A: 14 | P: 20 | +/-: -6 | TOI: 17:17
S55 | CGY | GP: 50 | G: 12 | A: 17 | P: 29 | +/-: 15 | TOI: 16:57
S56 | CGY | GP: 50 | G: 17 | A: 29 | P: 46 | +/-: 44 | TOI: 18:33
S57 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 28 | A: 27 | P: 55 | +/-: 33 | TOI: 18:57
S58 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 28 | A: 28 | P: 56 | +/-: 31 | TOI: 20:19
S59 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 31 | A: 42 | P: 73 | +/-: 31 | TOI: 22:15
S60 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 28 | A: 31 | P: 59 | +/-: 27 | TOI: 22:09
S61 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 36 | A: 35 | P: 71 | +/-: 13 | TOI: 21:45
S62 | CGY | GP: 66 | G: 25 | A: 44 | P: 69 | +/-: 12 | TOI: 21:19
S63 | TOR | GP: 66 | G: 11 | A: 27 | P: 38 | +/-: -15 | TOI: 19:40
S64 | LAP  | GP: 66 | G: 18 | A: 28 | P: 46 | +/-: 19 | TOI: 18:11
S65 | LAP  | GP: 66 | G: 14 | A: 24 | P: 38 | +/-: 21 | TOI: 17:53
S66 | LAP | GP: TBD | G: TBD | A: TBD | P: TBD | +/-: TBD | TOI: TBD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
S49 Montreal Militia Four Star Cup Champions
S50 Carolina Kraken Four Star Cup Champions
S50 Zach Miller Trophy Nomination
S50 Vyacheslav Onoprienko Trophy
S50 WJC USA Bronze Medal
S50 & S51 Carolina Kraken Assistant Captain
S51 SMJHL All-Star
S51 Laurifer Trophy
S52 Carolina Kraken Captain
S52 WJC USA Captain
S53 SHL All-Rookie Team
S54 Calgary Dragons Assistant Captain
S56-S58 Calgary Dragons Assistant Captain
S59-S63 Calgary Dragons Captain
S59 SHL All-Star Game
S60 SHL All-Star Game
S61 SHL All-Star Game
S63 United States of America IIHF Gold Medal
S63 SHL All-Star Game
S65 Challenge Cup Champion


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This is a great piece. I think one of the things you mentioned that is underrated as a cause is that balkanization. When are no internal candidates to take over a team as GM, that's when I get worried about filling the opening. Walking into a established culture that you likely have minimal connection and guiding it in a way that makes it your own and doesn't upset the members that predate you is not a easy task. And a borderline unfair task to ask of a first time GM. Why would you leave your friends to go run a team of strangers. In my mind this is another reason i'd like to encourage more player movement.

I really respect the time, work, thought and tone you put into this. And i'm glad you got so much feedback, well done.

Cracker Pizza || LW || Newfoundland Berserkers|| 219 TPE

Name: Cracker Pizza

Created: S74

Height: 6'0

Weight: 200

Number: 41

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      S76 SMJHL DRAFT 3RD OVERALL PICK     
                     IIHF TEAM NORWAY                      

What an incredible piece of writing. Bravo

Thanks to @sulovilen, @the5urreal, and @sve7en for the sigs!

Johnny Wagner-Svenson || RW || Carolina Kraken || Tampa Bay Barracuda

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Transactions

S68 - Drafted 2nd Overall by the Carolina Kraken

S69 - Drafted 2nd Overall by the Tampa Bay Barracuda

------------------------------------------------------------

Awards

------------------------------------------------------------

Achievements

S71 SMJHL All Star

S72 SHL Rookie Team All-SHL

------------------------------------------------------------

SMJHL Season Stats

S68: 66GP | 6G | 27A | 33P | +11 | 18 PIM | 5.3 SH% | 101 Hits | 33 SB | 66 GR

S69: 66GP | 14G | 26A | 40P | +5 | 18 PIM | 9.0 SH% | 140 Hits | 39 SB | 77 GR

S70: 66GP | 32G | 41A | 73P | +5 | 30 PIM | 17.0 SH% | 202 Hits | 26 SB | 84 GR

S71: 66GP | 47G | 49A | 96P | +14 | 54 PIM | 17.7 SH% | 149 Hits | 22 SB | 77 GR

SMJHL Career: 264 GP | 99G | 143A | 242P | +35 | 120 PIM | 12.3 SH% | 592 Hits | 120 SB | 76 GR

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SHL Season Stats

S72: 66GP | 36G | 30A | 66P | -30 | 36 PIM | 13.1 SH% | 72 Hits | 21 SB | 73 GR

S73: 66GP | 32G | 34A | 66P | -39 | 30 PIM | 11.1 SH% | 94 Hits | 30 SB | 72 GR

S74: 66GP | 60G | 42A | 102P | +10 | 44 PIM | 17.4 SH% | 113 Hits | 37 SB | 77 GR

S75: 66GP | 45G | 57A | 102P | +4 | 36 PIM | 15.6 SH% | 130 Hits | 57 SB | 78 GR

Rikard Bjerg - RETIRED || RD || Maine Timber || San Francisco Pride

------------------------------------------------------------

Transactions

S54 - Drafted 2nd Overall by the Maine Timber

S55 - Drafted 1st Overall by the San Francisco Pride

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Awards

S54: Voted Maine Timber Best Rookie[/font][/size]

S55: Zach Miller (Most Dedicated) Nomination

S56: Zach Miller (Most Dedicated) Winner

S56: Best Defensive Defenseman Nomination

S57: Zach Miller (Most Dedicated) Winner

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S63: Bojo Biscuit Award (Best Defensive Defenseman) Winner

S64: Bojo Biscuit Award (Best Defensive Defenseman) Nominee 

S64: Scott Stevens Award (Best Defenseman) Nominee [/font][/size][/color]

S65: Bojo Biscuit Award (Best Defensive Defenseman) Winner

S65: Scott Stevens Award (Best Defenseman) Nominee

S66: Bojo Biscuit Award (Best Defensive Defenseman) Nominee

S66: Scott Stevens Award (Best Defenseman) Nominee

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Achievements

S53: Silver Medal with Sweden WJC Team

First SMJHL Goal: S54 Preseason Game vs Carolina Kraken - Breakaway Goal

S56: Assistant Captain of the Maine Timber

S57: Assistant Captain of the Maine Timber

S57: Silver Medal with Sweden WJC Team

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SMJHL Season Stats

S54: 48 GP | 3G | 8A | 11P | -15 | 23PIM | 74 Hits | 68 SB | 64 DGR

S55: 50 GP | 5G | 9A | 14P | +2 | 12PIM | 65 Hits | 66 SB | 69 DGR

S56: 50 GP | 5G | 15A | 20P | -5 | 21PIM | 96 Hits | 111 SB | 73 DGR

S57: 66 GP | 8G | 18A | 26P | +9 | 54 PIM | 135 Hits | 118 SB | 64 DGR

SMJHL Career: 214 GP | 21G | 50A | 71P | -9 | 110 PIM | 370 Hits | 363 SB | 67.5 DGR

------------------------------------------------------------

SHL Season Stats

S58: 66GP | 2G | 14A | 16P | -33 | 34 PIM | 129 Hits | 143 SB | 62 DGR

S59: 66GP | 7G | 14A | 21P | -27 | 22 PIM | 164 Hits | 186 SB | 66 DGR

S60: 66GP | 7G | 12A | 19P | -21 | 18 PIM | 128 Hits | 178 SB | 63 DGR

S61: 66GP | 6G | 23A | 29P | +4 | 17 PIM | 139 Hits | 123 SB | 65 DGR

S62: 66GP | 6G | 11A | 17P | -20 | 25 PIM | 149 Hits | 143 SB | 64 DGR

S63: 66GP | 7G | 31A | 38P | +13 | 27 PIM | 166 Hits | 172 SB | 69 DGR

S64: 66GP | 11G | 30A | 41P | +8 | 23 PIM | 142 Hits | 144 SB | 68 DGR

S65: 66GP | 12G | 44A | 56P | +30 | 24PIM | 146 Hits | 177 SB | 72 DGR

S66: 66GP | 13G | 39A | 52P | +18 | 49PIM | 108 Hits | 92 SB | 77 DGR

S67: 66GP | 6G | 23A | 29P | +25 | 28PIM | 59 Hits | 138 SB | 74 DGR

SHL Career: 660GP | 77G | 241A | 318P | -3 | 267 PIM | 1330 Hits | 1496 SB | 68 DGR

Agent Smith || Former GM || San Francisco Pride

------------------------------------------------------------

Achievements

S59: Lance Uppercut Award (Best GM) Nominee
S63: Lance Uppercut Award (Best GM) Nominee

------------------------------------------------------------

 Season Stats

S56: 4 W | 42 L | 4 OTL | 12 Pts | 71 GF | 243 GA

S57: 12 W | 53 L | 1 OTL | 25 Pts | 113 GF | 254 GA

S58: 20 W | 40 L | 6 OTL | 46 Pts | 158 GF | 263 GA

S59: 26 W | 35 L | 5 OTL | 57 Pts | 158 GF | 223 GA

S60: 20 W | 41 L | 5 OTL | 45 Pts | 146 GF | 255 GA

S61: 28 W | 31 L | 7 OTL | 63 Pts | 197 GF | 196 GA

S62: 30 W | 32 L | 4 OTL | 64 Pts | 202 GF | 223 GA

S63: 40 W | 21 L | 5 OTL | 85 Pts | 252 GF | 186 GA

S64: 38 W | 23 L | 5 OTL | 81 Pts | 221 GF | 193 GA

Career Totals: 218 W | 318 L | 42 OTL | 478 Pts | 1518 GF | 2036 GA

Top tier, put this in the media HOF

G | S62 | Brick Wall | Great Falls Grizzlies | Montreal Patriotes | Team Czechia

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 175 lbs

Number: 35

Birthplace: Galway, Ireland

----------------------------------------------------------------

Career Statistics

SMJHL Regular Season

S61 | 58 GP | 28 W | 1667 S | 3.28 GAA | 4 SO | 0.900 SV%

S62 | 51 GP | 27 W | 1428 S | 2.78 GAA | 5 SO | 0.910 SV%

S63 | 49 GP | 31 W | 1147 S | 2.56 GAA | 2 SO | 0.900 SV%

S64 | 37 GP | 15 W | 1223 S | 3.07 GAA | 2 SO | 0.915 SV%

Totals | 195 GP | 101 W | 2.93 GAA | 13 SO | .906 SV%



SMJHL Playoffs

S61 | 12 GP | 5 W | 357 S | 3.50 GAA | 1 SO | 0.895 SV%

S62 | 4 GP | 0 W | 138 S | 3.52 GAA | 0 SO | 0.908 SV%

S63 | 14 GP | 8 W | 312 S | 2.54 GAA | 1 SO | 0.894 SV%

Totals | 30 GP | 13 W | 3.05 GAA | 2 SO | .897 SV %



WJC Round Robin

S61 | British Isles | 8 GP | 2 W | 234 S | 2.94 GAA | 0 SO | 0.907 SV%

S62 | British Isles | 9 GP | 6 W | 177 S | 2.59 GAA | 0 SO | 0.881 SV%

S63 | British Isles | 12 GP | 3 W | 328 S | 3.97 GAA | 0 SO | 0.877 SV%

S64 | UCORCAL | 7 GP | 4 W | 216 S | 2.69 GAA | 2 SO | 0.919 SV%



WJC Knockout Rounds

S61 | British Isles | 1 GP | 0 W | 22 S | 1.62 GAA | 0 SO | 0.917 SV%

S62 | British Isles | 3 GP | 3 W | 76 S | 0.67 GAA | 1 SO | 0.974 SV%

S63 | British Isles | 1 GP | 0 W | 43 S | 4.00 GAA | 0 SO | 0.915 SV%

S64 | UCORCAL | 1 GP | 0 W | 32 S | 3.01 GAA | 0 SO | 0.914 SV%



SHL Regular Season

S64 | 13 GP | 6 W | 390 S | 2.82 GAA | 0 SO | 0.920 SV%

S65 | 47 GP | 14 W | 1700 S | 3.63 GAA | 2 SO | 0.914 SV%

S66 | 51 GP | 31 W | 1526 S | 3.09 GAA | 3 SO | 0.908 SV%

S67 | 52 GP | 28 W | 1326 S | 3.21 GAA | 5 SO | 0.896 SV%

S68 | 55 GP | 32 W | 1439 S | 2.93 GAA | 4 SO | 0.901 SV%

S69 | 54 GP | 40 W | 1438 S | 2.59 GAA | 6 SO | 0.911 SV%

S70 | 54 GP | 35 W | 1566 S | 3.02 GAA | 4 SO | 0.906 SV%

S71 | 54 GP | 38 W | 1586 S | 2.78 GAA | 5 SO | 0.914 SV%

S72 | 55 GP | 35 W | 1640 S | 2.96 GAA | 6 SO | 0.910 SV%

Totals | 435 GP | 259 W | 12,611 S | 3.00 GAA | 35 SO | 0.908 SV %



SHL Playoffs

S66 | 6 GP | 2 W | 188 S | 2.77 GAA | 0 SO | 0.913 SV%

S67 | 16 GP | 10 W | 542 S | 2.96 GAA | 1 SO | 0.920 SV%

S68 | 6 GP | 2 W | 209 S | 4.12 GAA | 0 SO | 0.886 SV%

S69 | 10 GP | 6 W | 278 S | 2.83 GAA | 0 SO | 0.911 SV%

S70 | 13 GP | 7 W | 388 S | 3.07 GAA | 0 SO | 0.904 SV%

S71 | 3 GP | 0 W | 100 S | 4.34 GAA | 0 SO | 0.885 SV%

S72 | 10 GP | 5 W | 343 S | 2.89 GAA | 0 SO | 0.920 SV%

Totals | 64 GP | 32 W | 2,048 S | 3.12 GAA | 1 SO | 0.910 SV%



IIHF Round Robin

S63 | Ireland | 3 GP | 2 W | 55 S | 1.86 GAA | 0 SO | 0.932 SV%

S64 | Czechia | 4 GP | 1 W | 125 S | 4.02 GAA | 0 SO | 0.887 SV%

S65 | Czechia | 12 GP | 7 W | 373 S | 4.10 GAA | 0 SO | 0.888 SV%

S66 | Czechia | 12 GP | 3 W | 360 S | 3.71 GAA | 0 SO | 0.889 SV%

S67 | Czechia | 12 GP | 5 W | 322 S | 2.54 GAA | 1 SO | 0.912 SV%

S68 | Czechia | 12 GP | 6 W | 319 S | 2.40 GAA | 1 SO | 0.917 SV%

S69 | Czechia | 12 GP | 6 W | 356 S | 3.34 GAA | 2 SO | 0.899 SV%

S70 | Czechia | 9 GP | 2 W | 194 S | 3.07 GAA | 1 SO | 0.882 SV%

S71 | Czechia |10 GP | 4 W | 254 S | 2.65 GAA | 0 SO | 0.904 SV%



IIHF Knockout Rounds

S65 | Czechia | 2 GP | 1 W | 80 S | 3.00 GAA | 0 SO | 0.930 SV%

S68 | Czechia | 1 GP | 0 W | 42 S | 2.64 GAA | 0 SO | 0.933 SV%

S69 | Czechia | 1 GP | 0 W | 16 S | 4.06 GAA | 0 SO | 0.800 SV%

S71 | Czechia | 1 GP | 0 W | 25 S | 3.04 GAA | 0 SO | 0.893 SV%



Awards

S62 | WJC Gold Medal - British Isles (player & GM)

S62 | SMJHL All-Star Game

S62 | Nominee - Zach Miller Trophy - Most Dedicated

S62 | Nominee - Vyacheslav Onoprienko Trophy - Most Underrated Player (nominated by Nevada)

S64 | Nominee - Cedric Robinson Trophy - Best Goalie

S66 | SHL All-Star Game

S66 | John McBride Trophy (Best Goaltender)

S66 | 1st Team All-SHL

S68 | 3rd Team All-SHL

S68 | SHL All-Star Game

S69 | John McBride Trophy (Best Goaltender)

S69 | Nominee - Ron Mexico Award (Most Valuable Player)

S69 | 1st Team All-SHL

S70 | Nominee - John McBride Trophy (Best Goaltender)

S70 | 2nd Team All-SHL

S71 | SHL All-Star Game

S71 | John McBride Trophy (Best Goaltender)

S71 | Mike Honcho Trophy (Fewest Goals Allowed)

S71 | 1st Team All-SHL

S72 | SHL All-Star Game

S72 | John McBride Trophy (Best Goaltender)

S72 | Mike Honcho Trophy (Fewest Goals Allowed)

S72 | 1st Team All-SHL



Team Awards

Great Falls Grizzlies

S61 | "Mama Bear" Award - Best Locker Room Leader

S61 | "Boo Boo" Award - Best Rookie

S62 | "Mama Bear" Award - Best Locker Room Leader

S63 | "Mama Bear" Award - Best Locker Room Leader

S63 | "Bear Necessities" Award - Best Media Piece - "S63 Parlay Watch"

S64 | "Mama Bear" Award - Best Locker Room Leader

S64 | "Bear Necessities" Award - Best Media Piece - "Pinch me, I'm no longer Irish"

Montreal Patriotes

S64 | Stan Din'desque Leadership Award

S64 | Rising Star Award

S65 | Stan Din'desque Leadership Award

S69 | Golden Poutine Team MVP

S70 | Stan Din'desque Leadership Award

S70 | Golden Poutine Team MVP



RD | S75 | Journey Man | KEL | VAN | SDT | MTL | International FA

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 180 lbs

Number: 7

Birthplace: Sovereign Citizen, World

----------------------------------------------------------------

Career Statistics

SMJHL Regular Season

S74 - KEL | 66 GP | 5 G | 15 A | 20 PTS | -26 +/- | 59 BLK | 67 H | 95.5 PDO

S75 - KEL | 4 GP | 1 G | 0 A | 1 PTS | -2 +/- | 11 BLK | 0 H | 99.3 PDO

S75 - VAN | 63 GP | 4 G | 9 A | 13 PTS | -59 +/- | 146 BLK | 99 H | 95.4 PDO

Totals | 133 GP | 10 G | 24 A | 34 PTS | -87 +/- | 216 BLK | 166 H



SMJHL Playoffs

S74 - KEL | 6 GP | 0 G | 2 A | 2 PTS | -4 +/- | 4 BLK | 6 H | 97.6 PDO

S75 - VAN | 7 GP | 4 G | 5 A | 9 PTS | +4 +/- | 7 BLK | 10 H | 107.0 PDO

Totals | 13 GP | 4 G | 7 A | 11 PTS | 0 +/- | 11 BLK | 16 H



WJC Round Robin

S73 | ICE | 12 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 PTS | -3 +/- | 11 BLK | 12 H | 97.7 PDO

S74 | WOR | 12 GP | 1 G | 8 A | 9 PTS | -7 +/- | 23 BLK | 18 H | 94.1 PDO

S75 | WOR | 12 GP | 0 G | 4 A | 4 PTS | +4 +/- | 34 BLK | 18 H | 98.0 PDO

Totals | 36 GP | 1 G | 12 A | 13 PTS | -6 +/- | 68 BLK | 48 H



WJC Knockout Rounds

S73 | ICE | 1 GP | 0 G | 0 A | 0 PTS | 1 +/- | 1 BLK | 2 H | 110.0 PDO

S75 | WOR | 3 GP | 1 G | 1 A | 2 PTS | 5 +/- | 1 BLK | 1 H | 111.6 PDO

Totals | 4 GP | 1 G | 1 A | 2 PTS | 6 +/- | 2 BLK | 3 H



Awards

S75 | WJC Silver Medal - World

S75 | Elias Armia Award: Commissioner Award



Team Awards

Kelowna Knights

S74 | Maxim Horvat Award - Top Rookie

Great piece Rancid!

Robin Nyckel || D || San Francisco Pride || TPE: 1000 
SMJHL Team: Colorado Raptors // St. Louis Scarecrows
SHL Team: San Francisco Pride
------------------------- SMJHL Regular Season Career Totals -------------------------
264 GP | 37 G | 92 A | 129 P | +33 | 178 PIM | 358 H | 423 SB
------------------------- SMJHL Playoff Career Totals -------------------------
31 GP | 5 G | 9 A | 14 P | +7 | 19 PIM | 35 H | 46 SB
------------------------- SHL Regular Season Career Totals -------------------------
198 GP | 13 G | 44 A | 57 P | -7 | 91 PIM | 127 H | 287 SB
------------------------- SHL Playoff Career Totals -------------------------
25 GP | 2 G | 6 A | 8 P | -17 | 12 PIM | 15 H | 47 SB
------------------------- Transactions -------------------------
S69 SMJHL Entry Draft, Drafted 6th OA by the Colorado Raptors
S70 SHL Entry Draft, Drafted 16th OA by the San Francisco Pride
S72 Four Star Cup
S76 Challenge Cup



Henrik Lekberg Osterman || W/C || Retired || Peak TPE: 2136
SMJHL Team: Colorado Raptors
SHL Team: San Francisco Pride
------------------------- SMJHL Regular Season Career Totals -------------------------
200 GP | 52 G | 76 A | 128 P | 0.64 PPG | -15 | 76 PIM | 235 H | 31 SB
------------------------- SMJHL Playoff Totals -------------------------
36 GP | 9 G | 13 A | 22 P | 0.61 PPG | +7 | 14 PIM | 50 H | 6 SB
------------------------- SHL Regular Season Career Totals -------------------------
1058 GP | 256 G | 504 A | 760 P | -174 | 436 PIM | 1439 H | 1259 SB
------------------------- SHL Playoffs Career Totals -------------------------
92 GP | 11 G | 29 A | 40 P | -17 | 12 PIM | 110 H | 79 SB
------------------------- Transactions -------------------------
S49 SMJHL Entry Draft, Drafted 52nd OA by the Colorado Raptors
S50 SHL Entry Draft, Drafted 3rd OA by the San Francisco Pride
------------------------- Awards & Honours -------------------------
S51 Vyacheslav Onoprienko Trophy Winner
S52 SMJHL All-Star Team
S58 Finalist for the Jeff Darr Award
S58 Finalist for the Aiden Richan Award
S59 3rd All-star Team
S59 Winner of the Jeff Darr Award
S60 Finalist for the Jeff Darr Award
S61 Finalist for the Jeff Darr Award
S73 Class Hall of Fame

Great write ups, so well done!

Wilhelm von Hindenburg II  || Center || Kelowna Knights || 268 TPE
Name: Wilhelm von Hindenburg II
Birthplace: Germany
Height: 6'6
Weight: 220 lbs
Number: 44
Drafted: SMJHL- Round 2, Pick 28, Kelowna Knights
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Accomplisments:
------------------------------------------------------------
Career Statistics:
SMJHL Regular Season Totals:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S69 | 68 GP | 18 G | 12 A | 30 P | -2 | 18 PIM | 69 H | 27 SB | 94 SOG | 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHL Regular Season Totals:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Jarmo Kekäläinen  || Left Wing || Texas Renegades || 1411 TPE [RET]
Name: Jarmo Kekäläinen
Birthplace: Finland
Height: 6'1
Weight: 185 lbs
Number: 72
Drafted: SHL- Round 2, Pick 19, San Francisco Pride
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Career Accomplisments:
WJC S57 Gold (Finland)
WJC S58 Gold (Finland)
WJC S59 Silver (Finland)
SMJHL S57 2nd Team All-Star
------------------------------------------------------------
Career Statistics:
SMJHL Regular Season Totals:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S56-59 | 247 GP | 63 G | 96 A | 159 P | +15 | 68 PIM | 202 H | 151 SB | 562 SOG | 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHL Regular Season Totals:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S60 [MTL] | 66 GP | 11 G | 19 A | 30 P | -23 | 14 PIM | 86 H | 60 SB | 139 SOG |
S61 [MTL] | 66 GP | 08 G | 19 A | 27 P | -10 | 20 PIM | 85 H | 67 SB | 135 SOG |
S62 [MTL] | 66 GP | 13 G | 13 A | 26 P | -82 | 32 PIM | 69 H | 130 SB|114 SOG |
S63 [MTL] | 66 GP | 09 G | 19 A | 28 P | -40 | 18 PIM | 63 H | 98 SB | 130 SOG |
S64 [TEX] | 66 GP | 12 G | 18 A | 30 P | +18| 18 PIM | 74 H | 64 SB | 144 SOG |
S65 [TEX] | 66 GP | 24 G | 25 A | 49 P | -21 | 26 PIM | 103 H | 127 SB | 187 SOG |
S66 [TEX] | 66 GP | 24 G | 39 A | 63 P | -27 | 45 PIM | 116 H | 61 SB | 229 SOG |
S67 [TEX] | 66 GP | 17 G | 29 A | 46 P | -30 | 37 PIM | 96 H | 60 SB | 169 SOG |
S65 [TEX] | 66 GP | 23 G | 28 A | 51 P | -40 | 24 PIM | 93 H | 31SB | 154 SOG |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOT         | 594 GP | 141 G | 209 A | 350 P | -255 | 234 PIM | 785 H | 698 SB | 1393 SOG |

I like GMing, but three reasons i would never step into a role as GM on this site.

- I am from Europe (draft is probably the most important and fun part)
- I don’t own a copy of FHM
- WJC was my first experience and it wasn’t an enjoyable one.

Great articles btw

Alvin Towne || G || S66 Draft Class || Peak: 155 TPE

Adrian Ayers || RW || S56 Draft Class || Peak: 1154 TPE

Gordie Boomhover || LW/C || S46 Draft Class || Peak: 1076 TPE

 | Player | Update Thread | Gordie#6746 | Manual Lineup Sheet | HockeyNation |

Point 1: Addressing FHM6 and Test-simming Burnout
(direct quote from WBF, emphasis mine)

“Beginning in S66, the SHL and SMJHL will transition to Franchise Hockey Manager 8. It’s hard to overstate how much work and preparation have gone into the decision to pull the trigger on this change, from back-end/index work to hours of testing to ensure that this will be a significant positive improvement for the league. The work done on this predates many members of head office, and will continue throughout this coming season as we prepare to make the change. We know that you are likely to have a lot of questions and/or concerns about this change, and we welcome those discussions. We will have more information on this switch in the coming weeks, but for now, I wanted to communicate the official timeline on this. We will be looking at all options on the table when it comes to restricting access to test simming on FHM8. The test simming culture that has developed over the past several years has become a detriment to the overall league experience and a deterrent for aspiring GM’s, and we hope that we can mitigate these issues.”

Once again, the SHL will be switching its sim engine, but this time it will be a linear progression to the newest iteration of FHM, installment number 8. There are a lot of moving parts here, and it is somewhat worrisome that this echoes the sudden next offseason change in sim engine like the old STHS-to-FHM6 switch two years ago. However, the goal here was explicitly stated - HO, or at least the Commissioner, distinctly recognizes what the GMs observed, that “test simming culture” is actively harming the league experience. A specific mention of it being a deterrent to hiring aspirant GMs tied in nicely with this article, and personally I think that this is the correct attitude to approach the league from the top-down. I will withhold judgment to see if the change to FHM8 itself is what addresses this, but the intent of WBF and HO seems to be coming from the right place to handle these issues.
GMs largely agreed, with a sense of cautious optimism, most of them remembering their similar initial positive feelings after the switch from STHS. One GM offered some specific foresight:
“I could be wrong, but from my understanding FHM8 will not only shift the meta but also significantly inhibit if not completely eliminate the automation testing some teams have employed to gain a knowledge gap.”
If this quote turns out to be true, it would be a massive win for potential managers to simply not have to devote larger blocks of time to test simming, and be able to focus on the more realistic managerial aspects of the job. Any other slight parity increases would be a bonus after that point. Once again, this is a “wait-and-see” change, but has the massive potential to address one of the largest cited reasons for GM burnout - test simming on FHM6.

ISFL was once my main league, and ahead of the S27 season the ISFL switched to a newer edition of the same game. I GM'd before, during and after the switch. One of the stated reasons by HO (I can't find it in a post, so may have been stated privately to GMs) was to address a similar 'test simming culture'. There were lots of 'break points' for certain attributes that people had found (most notably speed), which resulted in a perceived lack of build variety. The big difference between ISFL and SHL is that the fact that the sim was 'solved' resulted in relative parity, rather than a lack of it. In the season before the sim switch, 9 of 14 teams finished within one game of .500.

On the new sim, test simming was much harder to automate. This may have resulted in a reduction in test simming, but it meant that test simming took much longer and was more involved (when it was more automated, I would test sim while doing household tasks and come back to the PC every 5-10 minutes to make changes). Without knowledge of these break points and other wisdom about what worked and what didn't, parity became much worse (at least temporarily, I am no longer active in ISFL) and teams that had a greater knowledge of the new sim (as well as the teams that were rumoured to have written programs that re-automated the process) had a huge advantage. The teams that were 1st and 3rd in TPE in the ISFL missed the playoffs entirely in the first season of the new sim with suboptimal strats and builds, because restricting test simming made test simming and overall sim knowledge more important than ever. Build variety was also worse than on the old sim, but perhaps this could be attributed to the way the new archetypes were made rather than the decreased effectiveness of test simming.

As long as there is an advantage to be gained from test simming (which, as we all know, there absolutely is), people will test sim. People want to win, understandably so.

You may get different answers by asking different GMs, but I spent more time test simming after the sim switch, felt far more burned out and it was a big reason why I eventually stepped down a few seasons later. I'd personally be very hesitant about restricting GMs from test simming, I think a better way to address the daunting nature of it is to provide people with more resources that make test simming easier and level out the amount of knowledge people have about the sim. This would actually address the 'culture' issue, rather than just pushing back against it. The problem with this is that it seems SHL has a much less collaborative culture than I've seen in other leagues - when myself and others (see this, this, or this article for some examples off the top of my head) conducted extensive studies about the sim or test simming generally, we shared the information with the rest of the league. The problem with the 'test simming culture' is not that people are test simming a lot, it's that the information is so guarded as a result of how competitive the SHL is.

TL;DR: The road to hell is paved with good intentions, you can bet the same users and teams putting in more effort now will do so again on the new sim and specifically restricting test simming is a bad idea imo.

Point 1: Addressing FHM6 and Test-simming Burnout
(direct quote from WBF, emphasis mine)

“Beginning in S66, the SHL and SMJHL will transition to Franchise Hockey Manager 8. It’s hard to overstate how much work and preparation have gone into the decision to pull the trigger on this change, from back-end/index work to hours of testing to ensure that this will be a significant positive improvement for the league. The work done on this predates many members of head office, and will continue throughout this coming season as we prepare to make the change. We know that you are likely to have a lot of questions and/or concerns about this change, and we welcome those discussions. We will have more information on this switch in the coming weeks, but for now, I wanted to communicate the official timeline on this. We will be looking at all options on the table when it comes to restricting access to test simming on FHM8. The test simming culture that has developed over the past several years has become a detriment to the overall league experience and a deterrent for aspiring GM’s, and we hope that we can mitigate these issues.”

Once again, the SHL will be switching its sim engine, but this time it will be a linear progression to the newest iteration of FHM, installment number 8. There are a lot of moving parts here, and it is somewhat worrisome that this echoes the sudden next offseason change in sim engine like the old STHS-to-FHM6 switch two years ago. However, the goal here was explicitly stated - HO, or at least the Commissioner, distinctly recognizes what the GMs observed, that “test simming culture” is actively harming the league experience. A specific mention of it being a deterrent to hiring aspirant GMs tied in nicely with this article, and personally I think that this is the correct attitude to approach the league from the top-down. I will withhold judgment to see if the change to FHM8 itself is what addresses this, but the intent of WBF and HO seems to be coming from the right place to handle these issues.
GMs largely agreed, with a sense of cautious optimism, most of them remembering their similar initial positive feelings after the switch from STHS. One GM offered some specific foresight:
“I could be wrong, but from my understanding FHM8 will not only shift the meta but also significantly inhibit if not completely eliminate the automation testing some teams have employed to gain a knowledge gap.”
If this quote turns out to be true, it would be a massive win for potential managers to simply not have to devote larger blocks of time to test simming, and be able to focus on the more realistic managerial aspects of the job. Any other slight parity increases would be a bonus after that point. Once again, this is a “wait-and-see” change, but has the massive potential to address one of the largest cited reasons for GM burnout - test simming on FHM6.

ISFL was once my main league, and ahead of the S27 season the ISFL switched to a newer edition of the same game. I GM'd before, during and after the switch. One of the stated reasons by HO (I can't find it in a post, so may have been stated privately to GMs) was to address a similar 'test simming culture'. There were lots of 'break points' for certain attributes that people had found (most notably speed), which resulted in a perceived lack of build variety. The big difference between ISFL and SHL is that the fact that the sim was 'solved' resulted in relative parity, rather than a lack of it. In the season before the sim switch, 9 of 14 teams finished within one game of .500.

On the new sim, test simming was much harder to automate. This may have resulted in a reduction in test simming, but it meant that test simming took much longer and was more involved (when it was more automated, I would test sim while doing household tasks and come back to the PC every 5-10 minutes to make changes). Without knowledge of these break points and other wisdom about what worked and what didn't, parity became much worse (at least temporarily, I am no longer active in ISFL) and teams that had a greater knowledge of the new sim (as well as the teams that were rumoured to have written programs that re-automated the process) had a huge advantage. The teams that were 1st and 3rd in TPE in the ISFL missed the playoffs entirely in the first season of the new sim with suboptimal strats and builds, because restricting test simming made test simming and overall sim knowledge more important than ever. Build variety was also worse than on the old sim, but perhaps this could be attributed to the way the new archetypes were made rather than the decreased effectiveness of test simming.

As long as there is an advantage to be gained from test simming (which, as we all know, there absolutely is), people will test sim. People want to win, understandably so.

You may get different answers by asking different GMs, but I spent more time test simming after the sim switch, felt far more burned out and it was a big reason why I eventually stepped down a few seasons later. I'd personally be very hesitant about restricting GMs from test simming, I think a better way to address the daunting nature of it is to provide people with more resources that make test simming easier and level out the amount of knowledge people have about the sim. This would actually address the 'culture' issue, rather than just pushing back against it. The problem with this is that it seems SHL has a much less collaborative culture than I've seen in other leagues - when myself and others (see this, this, or this article for some examples off the top of my head) conducted extensive studies about the sim or test simming generally, we shared the information with the rest of the league. The problem with the 'test simming culture' is not that people are test simming a lot, it's that the information is so guarded as a result of how competitive the SHL is.

TL;DR: The road to hell is paved with good intentions, you can bet the same users and teams putting in more effort now will do so again on the new sim and specifically restricting test simming is a bad idea imo.

You absolutely nailed this and what I've tried to get at in a few conversations.

Kyle Wahlters || General Manager || Toronto North Stars
------------------------------------------------------------
Career Statistics:
SHL
Portland Admirals AGM - S31 | 21-27-2 |
Portland Admirals GM - S32 | 7-40-3 |
Portland Admirals GM - S33 | 20-24-6 |
Portland Admirals GM - S34 | 30-16-4 | Western Conference Champion
Portland Admirals GM - S35 | 29-18-3 | Western Conference Champion
Calgary Dragons HC - S59 | 42-20-4 | Lost in Quarterfinals
Calgary Dragons HC - S60 | 38-21-7 | Lost in Western Conference Finals
Calgary Dragons HC - S61 | 34-26-6 | Lost in Quarterfinals
Calgary Dragons AGM - S62 | 36-23-7 | Lost in First Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S63 | 36-22-8 | Lost in First Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S64 | 19-43-4 | Lost in First Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S65 | 38-23-5 | Lost in First Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S66 | 38-26-2 | Lost in Second Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S67 | 47-16-3 | Lost in Second Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S68 | 46-16-4 | Lost in Second Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S69 | 13-50-3 | DNQ
Toronto North Stars GM - S70 | 6-57-3 | DNQ
Toronto North Stars GM - S71 | 10-56-0 | DNQ
Toronto North Stars GM - S72 | 14-48-4 | DNQ
Toronto North Stars GM - S73 | 22-39-5 | Lost in First Round
Toronto North Stars GM - S74 | 30-33-3 | Lost in First Round

SMJHL
Montreal Militia AGM - S45 | 29-19-2 | Lost in Quarterfinals
Montreal Militia AGM - S46 | 24-21-5 | Lost in Semi-Finals

IIHF
Austria GM - S57 | 3-8-1
Austria GM - S58 | 2-9-1
Austria GM - S59 | 1-9-2
Austria GM - S60 | 3-9-0
Austria GM - S61 | 5-7-0
------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
S34 Lance Uppercut Award
S60 Coach of the Year Award
S61 Coach of the Year Award


Oleksander Olli O'Koivu || C || Regina Elk || Rookie

Name: Oleksander Olli O'Koivu
Age: 17
Birthplace: Netherlands
------------------------------------------------------------

Cale Amundsen || G || Calgary/Seattle || 1,298 TPE

Name: Cale Amundsen
Age: 21
Birthplace: Netherlands
IIHF Affiliation: Austria
------------------------------------------------------------
Career Statistics:
SHL Regular Season Totals:
S55 - 5 GP | 4-0-1 | 3 SO | .958 SV% | 0.59 GAA | 79 GR
S56 - 5 GP | 3-2-0 | 1 SO | .914 SV% | 1.81 GAA | 70 GR
S57 - 20 GP | 15-2-0 | 3 SO | .924 SV% | 1.51 GAA | 67 GR
S58 - 18 GP | 15-2-0 | 1 SO | .927 SV% | 1.72 GAA | 74 GR
S59 - 24 GP | 18-5-1 | 1 SO | .906 SV% | 2.61 GAA | 69 GR
S60 - 29 GP | 15-10-3 | 2 SO | .921 SV% | 2.81 GAA | 79 GR
S61 - 50 GP | 26-19-4 | 2 SO | .919 SV% | 2.86 GAA | 77 GR
S62 - 47 GP | 24-15-5 | 2 SO | .918 SV% | 3.26 GAA | 76 GR

SHL Playoff Totals:
S60 - 11 GP | 5-4-1 | 1 SO | .930 SV% | 2.75 GAA | 81 GR
S61 - 10 GP | 5-3-2 | 1 SO | .931 SV% | 2.38 GAA | 82 GR
S62 - 7 GP | 3-3-1 | 0 SO | .911 SV% | 3.78 GAA | 78 GR

SMJHL Regular Season Totals:
S53 - 43 GP | 21-17-4 | 5 SO | .919 SV% | 2.68 GAA | 74 GR
S54 - 41 GP | 28-10-3 | 5 SO | .911 SV% | 2.31 GAA | 69 GR
S55 - 40 GP | 26-8-5 | 6 SO | .917 SV% | 2.06 GAA | 69 GR
S56 - 42 GP | 25-14-3 | 7 SO | .914 SV% | 2.45 GAA | 70 GR
------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
S53 SMJHL 1st Team
S53 SMJHL All-Rookie Team
S53 SMJHL Esa Anrikkanen Trophy
S53 SMJHL Tom Corcoran Trophy
S54 SMJHL East All-Star
S54 SMJHL Tom Corcoran Nominee
S55 SMJHL East All-Star
S55 SMJHL King-Kurczewski Gauntlet
S55 Four Star Cup Championship
S56 SMJHL East All-Star
S56 SMJHL 2nd Team
S56 SMJHL King-Kurczewski Gauntlet
S56 Playoff MVP Nominee
S56 SMJHL Tom Corcoran Trophey
S60 Newfoundland Berserker Hall of Fame Inductee
------------------------------------------------------------
Transactions:
S53 Drafted #13 OA by the Newfoundland Berserkers
S54 Drafted #23 OA by the Chicago Syndacite
S54 Traded to the Calgary Dragons
S54 Signed a 3yr/$7.5m contract
S56 Signed a 3 yr/$9m contract extension

Olli O'Koivu || G || POR/MIN Retired || S39 Cup Champion

Name: Olli O'Koivu
Age: 31
Birthplace: Finland (Played for Ireland)
------------------------------------------------------------
Career Statistics:
SHL Regular Season Totals:
269 GP | 146-89-34 | 20 SO | .910 SV% | 2.75 GAA
------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
S33 All-Rookie Team
S34 Cole Reinhart Trophy
S35 Mike Honcho Trophy
S35 John McBride Trophy
S35 Aiden Richan Trophy
S35 1st Team All-Star
S35 Cole Reinhart Trophy
S37 IIHF Silver Medal
S38 2nd Team All-Star
S38 John McBride Nominee
S38 Ron Mexico Nominee
S39 2nd Team All-Star
S39 John McBride Nominee
S39 Mathias Chouinard Trophy
S39 Challenge Cup
S39 IIHF Bronze Medal
S39 IIHF Top Goalie
S40 Mathias Chouinard Trophy
S41 IIHF Bronze Medal
S41 IIHF Top Goalie
S42 Damian Littleton Nominee

Aleksi O'Koivu-Volkova || G || HAM/CAL Retired || S50 Cup Champion

Name: Aleksi O'Koivu-Volkova
Age: 17
Birthplace: Russia
------------------------------------------------------------
S50 Challenge Cup
S51 Bronze IIHF

ISFL was once my main league, and ahead of the S27 season the ISFL switched to a newer edition of the same game. I GM'd before, during and after the switch. One of the stated reasons by HO (I can't find it in a post, so may have been stated privately to GMs) was to address a similar 'test simming culture'. There were lots of 'break points' for certain attributes that people had found (most notably speed), which resulted in a perceived lack of build variety. The big difference between ISFL and SHL is that the fact that the sim was 'solved' resulted in relative parity, rather than a lack of it. In the season before the sim switch, 9 of 14 teams finished within one game of .500.

On the new sim, test simming was much harder to automate. This may have resulted in a reduction in test simming, but it meant that test simming took much longer and was more involved (when it was more automated, I would test sim while doing household tasks and come back to the PC every 5-10 minutes to make changes). Without knowledge of these break points and other wisdom about what worked and what didn't, parity became much worse (at least temporarily, I am no longer active in ISFL) and teams that had a greater knowledge of the new sim (as well as the teams that were rumoured to have written programs that re-automated the process) had a huge advantage. The teams that were 1st and 3rd in TPE in the ISFL missed the playoffs entirely in the first season of the new sim with suboptimal strats and builds, because restricting test simming made test simming and overall sim knowledge more important than ever. Build variety was also worse than on the old sim, but perhaps this could be attributed to the way the new archetypes were made rather than the decreased effectiveness of test simming.

As long as there is an advantage to be gained from test simming (which, as we all know, there absolutely is), people will test sim. People want to win, understandably so.

You may get different answers by asking different GMs, but I spent more time test simming after the sim switch, felt far more burned out and it was a big reason why I eventually stepped down a few seasons later. I'd personally be very hesitant about restricting GMs from test simming, I think a better way to address the daunting nature of it is to provide people with more resources that make test simming easier and level out the amount of knowledge people have about the sim. This would actually address the 'culture' issue, rather than just pushing back against it. The problem with this is that it seems SHL has a much less collaborative culture than I've seen in other leagues - when myself and others (see this, this, or this article for some examples off the top of my head) conducted extensive studies about the sim or test simming generally, we shared the information with the rest of the league. The problem with the 'test simming culture' is not that people are test simming a lot, it's that the information is so guarded as a result of how competitive the SHL is.

TL;DR: The road to hell is paved with good intentions, you can bet the same users and teams putting in more effort now will do so again on the new sim and specifically restricting test simming is a bad idea imo.

You absolutely nailed this and what I've tried to get at in a few conversations.

Some of us have been after this concept for a while. The competitive advantage gained from that knowledge gap is brutal at points.

Jimmy Wagner || Seattle Argonauts || Carolina Kraken || RW || S53 || 1002 cTPE || 2295 pTPE (7th all time)
6'1 || 190 lbs || Perg, Austria || Swedish passport
S52 SMJHL Draft - 6th Overall - Carolina Kraken
S53 SHL Draft   - 5th Overall - Los Angeles Panthers
- - - - - -
SHL Season Stats
Szn |Team | GP |  G |  A |  P | +/- | Sht | PM | TOI
S56 | LAP | 50 |  6 | 16 | 22 | -10 | 108 | 24 |1023 // A /
S57 | LAP | 66 | 16 | 25 | 41 | -13 | 167 | 24 |1508 // A /
S58 | LAP | 66 | 15 | 31 | 46 |  -3 | 173 | 12 |1485 // A /
S59 | LAP | 66 | 22 | 26 | 48 | -19 | 208 | 12 |1576 // A /
S60 | LAP | 66 | 25 | 31 | 56 |  13 | 214 | 10 |1380 // A /
S61 | LAP | 66 | 19 | 35 | 54 | -10 | 251 | 16 |1436 // C /
S62 | LAP | 66 | 38 | 48 | 86 |  12 | 330 | 14 |1481 // C / MVP Nominee, Breakout Nominee, 2nd Team All-SHL
S63 | LAP | 66 | 20 | 40 | 64 |   5 | 292 | 22 |1442 // C /
S64 | LAP | 66 | 32 | 38 | 70 |  40 | 256 | 16 |1387 // C /
S65 | LAP | 66 | 18 | 27 | 45 |  25 | 209 | 10 |1310 // C /
S66 | LAP | 66 | 31 | 28 | 59 |  24 | 183 | 38 |1198 // C /
S67 | SEA | 66 | 21 | 39 | 60 |  32 | 194 | 24 |1120 //   /

S68 | SEA | 66 | 30 | 37 | 67 |  46 | 146 | 22 |1176 //   /
S69 | SEA | 66 | 21 | 38 | 59 |  42 | 147 | 28 |1188 //   /
S70 | SEA | 66 | 14 | 23 | 37 |  13 | 134 | 32 |1154 //   /
S71 | LAP | 66 | 21 | 55 | 55 | -17 | 142 | 22 |1267 //   /
- - - - - -
Challenge Cup Playoff Stats
Szn |Team | GP |  G |  A |  P | +/- | Sht | PM | TOI
S56 | LAP |  5 |  1 |  2 |  3 |  -6 |  11 |  0 | 111 // A /
S57 | LAP |  6 |  1 |  1 |  2 |   1 |  21 |  0 | 137 // A /
S58 | LAP |  6 |  2 |  2 |  4 |   2 |  11 |  4 | 142 // A /
S59 | LAP |  6 |  1 |  4 |  5 |  -2 |  21 |  2 | 150 // A /
S60 | LAP |  6 |  1 |  1 |  2 |  -3 |   8 |  0 | 123 // A /
S61 | LAP |  5 |  1 |  3 |  4 |  -4 |  15 |  0 | 113 // C /
S62 | LAP | 17 |  8 | 12 | 20 |  13 |  63 |  2 | 390 // C /
S63 | LAP | 22 |  6 | 13 | 19 |   3 |  74 |  0 | 502 // C /
S64 | LAP | 12 |  6 |  6 | 12 |   6 |  59 |  2 | 274 // C /
S65 | LAP | 20 |  3 | 15 | 18 |  19 |  50 |  0 | 413 // C / ⟅ⅬⅩⅤ⟆ CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION ⟅ⅬⅩⅤ⟆
S66 | LAP |  9 |  2 |  2 |  4 |   1 |  17 |  2 | 173 // C /

S67 | SEA | 23 |  5 | 15 | 20 |  20 |  53 |  6 | 409 //   / ⟅ⅬⅩⅤII⟆ CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION ⟅ⅬⅩⅤII⟆

S68 | SEA | 21 |  6 | 13 | 19 |  16 |  48 | 10 | 418 //   / ⟅ⅬⅩⅤIII⟆ CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION ⟅ⅬⅩⅤIII⟆

S69 | SEA | 16 |  1 |  7 |  8 |  20 |  28 |  4 | 310 //   /

S70 | SEA | 13 |  3 |  1 |  4 |  16 |  33 |  4 | 221 //   /

S71 | LAP | 12 |  3 |  4 |  7 |   3 |  29 |  4 | 235 //   /
- - - - - -
SMJHL Season Stats
Szn |Team | GP |  G |  A |  P | +/- | Sht | PM | TOI
S52 | CAR | 50 |  6 |  8 | 14 |  +5 |  63 |  6 | 569 //   /
S53 | CAR | 50 | 10 | 20 | 30 |  -2 | 125 |  8 | 916 // C /
S54 | CAR | 50 | 24 | 29 | 53 |  20 | 171 | 12 | 943 // C / MVP, Scoring Leader, 1st Team All-SMJHL
S55 | CAR | 50 | 17 | 26 | 43 |  30 | 145 | 10 | 876 // C /
- - - - - -
Four Star Cup Playoff Stats
Szn |Team | GP |  G |  A |  P | +/- | Sht | PM | TOI
S52 | CAR | 11 |  0 |  1 |  1 |  -1 |   8 |  2 | 118 //   /
S53 | CAR |  4 |  1 |  1 |  2 |  -3 |   7 |  0 |  75 // C /
S54 | CAR | 20 |  5 |  9 | 14 |   3 |  60 |  4 | 419 // C / FOUR STAR CUP CHAMPIONS
S55 | CAR | 11 |  5 |  5 | 10 |   4 |  28 |  4 | 203 // C /
- - - - - -
WJC Stats
Szn |Team | GP |  G |  A |  P | +/- | Sht | PM | TOI
S51 |PRWR | 19 |  4 |  8 | 12 |  -6 |  45 |  4 | 357 // M / Andani Award Nominee
S52 |DACH | 15 |  1 |  1 |  2 |  -2 |   8 |  2 | 100 // M /
S53 |DACH | 13 |  4 |  3 |  7 |  -2 |  21 |  0 | 186 //   /
S54 |DACH | 13 |  1 |  1 |  2 |  -3 |  16 |  0 | 219 //   /
S55 |DACH | 13 |  5 |  4 |  9 |   3 |  28 |  4 | 221 //   /
- - - - - -
IIHF Stats
Szn |Team | GP |  G |  A |  P | +/- | Sht | PM | TOI
S54 | AUT | 13 |  0 |  1 |  1 |   2 |   3 |  4 | 121 //   /
S55 | AUT | 13 |  1 |  1 |  2 |   0 |   7 |  2 | 124 //   /
S56 | AUT | 12 |  1 |  3 |  4 |   2 |  13 |  4 | 218 //   /
S57 | AUT | 12 |  3 |  2 |  5 |  -8 |  30 |  2 | 220 //   /
S58 | International hiatus
S59 | International hiatus
S60 | SWE | 14 |  8 |  6 | 14 |   5 |  43 |  6 | 221 //   / IIHF BRONZE
S61 | SWE | 13 |  5 | 10 | 15 |   1 |  55 |  0 | 228 //   /
S62 | SWE | 13 |  0 |  3 |  3 | -11 |  33 |  2 | 192 // C /
S63 | SWE | 13 | 12 |  8 | 20 |   7 |  56 |  0 | 229 // A / TOP FORWARD AWARD
S64 | SWE | 15 |  7 |  6 | 13 |  11 |  39 |  0 | 239 //   / IIHF SILVER
S65 | SWE | 12 |  2 |  4 |  6 |  -3 |  21 |  6 | 183 //   /
S66 | SWE | 15 |  5 |  4 |  9 |   2 |  33 |  2 | 182 //   /

S67 | SWE | 15 |  3 | 10 | 13 |  11 |  22 |  0 | 200 //   /
S68 | SWE | 15 |  7 |  3 | 10 |   7 |  21 |  6 | 198 //   / ⟅1st⟆ IIHF GOLD ⟅1st⟆
S69 | SWE | 15 |  5 |  2 |  7 |   4 |  19 |  6 | 198 //   / IIHF SILVER
S70 | SWE | 13 |  1 |  1 |  2 |   2 |  16 |  6 | 163 //   / IIHF SILVER
- - - - - -
Accolades
S51 - WJC   - Alex Andani Award Nominee (Top Rookie)
S52 - CAR   - Jordan Nugent Hall Award for the Most Dedicated Player
S52 - CAR   - Alonzo Garbonzo Award for the Top Rookie
S53 - CAR   - Named Captain
S53 - SMJHL - Eastern Conference All Star
S53 - CAR   - Kain Webb Award for Team Leadership
S53 - CAR   - Cristoph Klose Award for the Top Forward
S53 - CAR   - Michael Fitted Award for Team Values
S54 - SMJHL - Eastern Conference All Star
S54 - CAR   - Kain Webb Award for Team Leadership
S54 - CAR   - Cristoph Klose Award for the Top Forward
S54 - CAR   - Kurtis Hunter Award for the Team's MVP
S54 - SMJHL - 1st Team All-League
S54 - SMJHL - Jared Hanson Award (Scoring Champ)
S54 - SMJHL - Ideen Fallah Trophy (Committee MVP)
S54 - SMJHL - Zach Miller Trophy Finalist (Most Dedicated)
S54 - SMJHL - Elias Armia Award (Commisioner's Award of Excellence)
S54 - SMJHL - ★★★★ FOUR STAR CUP CHAMPION ★★★★
S55 - SMJHL - Eastern Conference All Star
S55 - CAR   - Jordan Nugent Hall Award for the Most Dedicated Player
S55 - SMJHL - Zach Miller Trophy Finalist (Most Dedicated)
S56 - LAP   - Named Alternate Captain
S58 - SHL   - Damien Littleton Winner (Most Dedicated)

S60 - SWE   - Bronze Medal
S61 - LAP   - Named Captain
S62 - LAP   - Phillip Winter Award (Team MVP)
S62 - SHL   - 2nd Team All-SHL
S62 - SHL   - Aidan Richan Award Finalist (Most Improved Player)
S62 - SHL   - Ron Mexico Award Finalist (MVP)

S62 - SWE   - Named Captain
S63 - LAP   - Western Conference Champions
S62 - IIHF  - Top Forward Award

S64 - SWE   - Silver Medal

S65 - LAP   - Western Conference Champions
S65 - LAP   - ⟅ⅬⅩⅤ⟆ CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION ⟅ⅬⅩⅤ⟆

S67 - SEA   - Western Conference Champions

S67 - SEA   - ⟅ⅬⅩⅤII⟆ CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION ⟅ⅬⅩⅤII⟆

S68 - SEA   - Western Conference Champions

S68 - SEA   - ⟅ⅬⅩⅤIII⟆ CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION ⟅ⅬⅩⅤIII⟆

S68 - SWE   - ⟅1st⟆ IIHF GOLD MEDAL ⟅1st⟆

S69 - SWE   - Silver Medal

S70 - SWE   - Silver Medal

Chris Conner || Carolina Kraken || General Manager
- - - - - -
S54 | CAR | Coach | 32-13-5 | 69 pts | 3rd in reg season, ★★★★ FOUR STAR CUP CHAMPION ★★★★
S55 | CAR | CoGM  | 37-12-1 | 75 pts | 2nd in reg season
S56 | CAR | GM    | 31-17-2 | 64 pts | 2nd in reg season
S57 | CAR | GM    | 26-32-8 | 60 pts |
S58 | CAR | GM    | 26-39-1 | 53 pts |
S59 | CAR | GM    | 32-30-4 | 68 pts |
S60 | CAR | GM    | 36-26-4 | 76 pts | Division title
S61 | CAR | GM    | 42-20-4 | 88 pts | Division title
S62 | CAR | GM    | 41-20-5 | 87 pts | Division title
S63 | CAR | GM    | 39-26-1 | 79 pts |
S64 | CAR | GM    | 22-36-8 | 52 pts |
S65 | CAR | GM    | 29-32-5 | 63 pts |
S66 | CAR | GM    | 20-40-6 | 46 pts |

S67 | CAR | GM    | 24-36-6 | 54 pts |

S68 | CAR | GM    | 43-22-1 | 87 pts | 2nd in reg season, postseason under protest

S69 | CAR | GM    | 37-26-3 | 77 pts |
S70 | CAR | GM    | 30-31-5 | 65 pts |
S71 | CAR | GM    | 34-28-4 | 72 pts |
- - - - - -
S56 | LAP | Offseason Interim GM

S68 | CAR | GM of the Year Nominee

Most I've read in years, but this series was very interesting as a relative newbie—really good work.

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