For many of the players currently playing in the SHL they have heroes that they simply watched on tv or had a passing conversation with. For current Edmonton Blizzard forward Evgeni Karpotsov, his hero is the man who raised him, his father and Blizzard legend, Sergei Karpotsov. Sergei started his career during the innaugural season of the SHL when he was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets and formed one of the best lines in history, the PMS line. Karpotsov won the first ever challenge cup with the Jets and it was just the start for the legend. Karpotsov on played four seasons in the SHL, two with Winnipeg and two with the Blizzard, but he made the most of that short career. Karpotsov is a three time challenge cup champion, a former scoring champion, an mvp and a playoff mvp. Along with all of these awards he also has the disctinction of ending his career with the best point per game at the time of his retirement in an era where scoring was hard to come by. Following his amazing career, Karpotsov was the first ever inductee into the SHL Hall of Fame before passing away in a way only a true legend can, with a prostitute riding him to bliss.. This man was a great hockey player and a great hero for young Sergei.
Kaapo Kekkonen's hero in the SHL is none other than Panthers legend Brian Morley. Morley was a dominant player during his prime and he collected various trophies such as the Jay McDonald and Sergei Karpotsov awards. Morley was drafted 19th overall and spent his entire career with the Panthers, eventually becoming co-GM. Kekkonen, to this point, was drafted 20th overall and has spent his entire career with the Panthers. While it took Kekkonen a few more seasons to get "up to speed" compared to Morley, both players have been relied upon to carry the offensive workload for the Panthers. Morley scored 20+ goals 6 seasons in a row, almost breaking 30 goals in both S22 and S24. Kekkonen had a slow start to his career, but finished last season with 23 goals and is on pace for 28 this season. With a handful of seasons left until regression sets in, Kekkonen looks to become a steady scoring threat for the Panthers like the Morley of old.
Brian Morley represented everything I look for in a great player. Longevity, extended period of peak play, strong goal scorer, and dedicated to a single team. Morley now resides in the Hall of Fame, where his career will forever be enshrined. Kekkonen could only hope for his career to even sniff the greatness that Morley's was.
Reed Laing's hero growing up was none other than her current on and off boyfriend, Brendan Gibbon. Reed always looked up to Gibbon as a young girl with a dream of one day playing in the SHL. Gibbon started his career with the Las Vegas Kings (now the Seattle Riot) and was a major contributor to their team. He was traded to the Texas Renegades and spent the rest of his career with the franchise, winning 3 Challenge Cups.
Brendan Gibbon was known as one of the fiercest players in the league. His motivation and drive to succeed is what set him apart from many other players with a much higher skill level. He was a physical passing center for much of his career, but his amazing leadership is what led Reed Laing to viewing him as her hero.
Gibbon was one of the greatest leaders in SHL history. He served as the Renegades captain for all 3 of their Cup victories and the Renegades have had little to no success since stripping him of the C. Laing has always viewed herself of a leader and this is due large in part to watching Gibbon for much of her childhood. If Laing can have half the career Brendan Gibbon had then she will be one happy little lady.
Number 93, Luke Fleming is a leader on and off the ice. It has always been a dream for Corey Bearss to lace up his skates and skate along side the legend. Fleming is now a newly minted GM of the Winnipeg Jets along with Scott Robertson. With their first draft they have started a rebuild to make Winnipeg a contender again. Bearss was drafted 30th overall in the S31 draft, and now the dream is starting to come together. Fleming is a C/RW on the first line for the Jets. Known as a Two-way forward, Fleming boasts a 99 scoring stat line, and 90 on defense. He is an animal and makes a difference wherever he is on the ice.
To Bearss, that is the model of a perfect player. One that can skate fast, and shows up to play night in and night out, and gives 110% in whatever role he is playing in. While Bearss was a young lad, obviously he played lots of mini-sticks, roller hockey, and pond hockey. Most people have the dream of scoring the winning goal in game 7 of the playoffs, but for Bearss, it was to set up the big pass in the dying moments of the game and having Fleming score.
To be able to play with Fleming, Bearss knew that he was going to have to be fast, work hard on the offensive and defensive end, and be an amazing passer to set up the big guy. That is the dream, and what drives him. Now he has been drafted to the same team, and just has to work his butt off to get the call up to the bigs. Here’s to the next chapter.
Every kid growing up regardless of what they want to be or how they expect to be, needs a hero of some sort to look up to and idolize over and mold themselves. Roman Morenov was slightly different.
Sure playing hockey in Russia you are expected to be the best, have the discipline that mother Russia is always teaching you. Then comes the scoring touch that most Russians are born with, the hand-eye coordination ability that most other countries dream their players to have.
Morenov was different, and you could say there was a handful of players he could have looked up to to build what he has now, but no, he didn’t. He was bigger, so he just grew to be meaner, he was his own hero, and worst enemy, until he came to the SHL.
After one year in Montreal, the Impact, of the time, picked up a player that would lead them on the back end, and become the hero that Morenov never had. Jasper Clayton. Funny isn’t, a scoring, fancy, Russian lookalike player, that was the complete opposite from Morenov.
Morenov was looking more for a person to build his character after, and the British Clayton, was the perfect, fancy, soul to do so. These two became inseparable from each other as the season went on. Clayton helped Morenov learn better English, to carry himself better, Morenov had finally found that perfect hero he had been looking for this whole time.
Sure he wasn’t branding his game after him, but to Morenov it felt like so much more, the character building that he was after all of those years when people told him to look up to something bigger and better, he had finally found it, his life long defence partner!
Although he's just making his way up to the pros now, Nolan Angello was someone Brennan Kennedy looked up to. Even though Angello is known as more of a shoot first kind of guy, Kennedy has started to model his game after him a bit.
Brennan joined the league looking to be a playmaker, as he practiced, he took notice to the way Nolan handled the puck and read the ice. Brennan was known for having soft hands, and being able to develop a play out of nothing, but Angello could not only make a play appear our of nowhere, the play usually ended with him ripping the puck into the net. Brennan looked up to Nolan from the first day of the Militias training camp last year and even though he is still a pass first playmaker, has improved his shot drastically after working with Angello all last season. The results of all his work can be seen in his stat line this year, Kennedy has found the back of the net 7 times into this young season.
I didn't get to play long with him, but I immediately clicked with Nolan on the ice and realized that he excelled in the areas of the game I needed to improve on. Because of this I look to him as a modern day hero,friend and former teammate.
Name: Cody Black
Team: Hamilton Steelhawks (S26 Draft pick)
Position: Defense
Build: Two way Defenseman
Today a reporter sat down with upcoming prospect of the Hamilton Steelhawks Ludiwg Koch Schröder and as part of the 'Learn your prospects' series we are running here, the question posed to him today was "Who do you look up to?"
"Well that's a pretty easy decision for me, seeing as Black being an alumni of the Whalers has had some contact with me through out the year. He has always been there to help when needed and shows a lot of the type of D man I want to be. I know he is more of a 2 way defense man but the defensive side of the game is where I need to grow and he is a perfect example where I want to be. It was almost a dream to then be selected by the Steelhawks at the 10th spot as it offers me the opportunity to grow as a player with Cody and really learn from him. Seeing as he is wearing the C this year as well, I am hoping to really learn what it is to be Captain of an SHL team so I too can learn someday and maybe take up the mantle if the occasion arises. Our history is the same, and I hope our paths end up the same honestly. Both raising the cup and hopefully someday when he is ready to pass the torch I will be there to take it and continue building on Hamiltons legacy and team history."
Thanks Ludwig for you time.
[The camera cuts on to Peller, who's in official Halifax Raiders sweats, sitting in a director-style chair with a media screen behind her emblazoned with the Raiders' logo on repeat. She's lit up with professional lighting, and someone is finishing up micing her -- just scurrying out of frame as picture comes into focus.]
PEL: This is for the end-of-season thing?
UNKNOWN: Yeah, the tribute.
PEL: Uh -- OK. Cool, where should I start?
UNKNOWN: I mean, anywhere -- why you'll miss him, what you think he's done for the organization, why -- you know. Why not having him on the team next year will be a huge loss, that sort of shit.
PEL: Is this -- like, is it gonna be on the jumbotron? Do I gotta be --
UNKNWON: [manic laughter] Oh, we're gonna edit it. Don't worry.
[Pel sighs, squares her shoulders and looks right at the camera.]
PEL:Dicky Chocolate (<a href='index.php?showuser=2156' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-13'>Your Mothers Favorite Goalie</a>) is a miserable son of a bitch, and it's a relief to know he'll be gone next season. With the sexy flow, those soft hands, that flawless confidence, he's done nothing but overshadow my slightly more subdued awesomeness both behind the scenes and in net these last two seasons, and it's time for him to go plague the Calgary Dragons' locker room with that nonsense.
[Pel tries to smile, keep things jocular -- but the expression twists up all wrong on her face, making her look... sad.]
PEL: From depressing me with his tales of grandeur when taking me out after I've had shit games -- like you know, nasty five-goals-against type shit -- to being completely useless beyond sitting on top of the bench gate yelling insults after agreeing to stay late after practices to work on hand-eye and skating, he's been nothing but a giant pain in my ass. He thinks he's hot shit, you know -- his SHL debut last year, he manages a shut out for Calgary; his trend of being a more defensively integrated goalie and not straight-up ignoring puck handling in favor of rebound control wound up proving vital in net for Halifax when taking the Four Star Cup last year; his socks always match his fucking underwear and his helmet detailing was done by the same dude who did the artwork for The Game's Jesus Piece album cover. But all of that is absolute fucking nonsense.
[Pel's rant loses steam and she breaks eye contact with the camera, looks down, scratches at her left ear for a minute.]
PEL: He wouldn't say so, but his greatest contribution to this team has been his unfailing faith. His faith in this club's goal-tending futures, his faith in our ability to work as a unit regardless of whatever problems we might have off the ice, whatever struggles with being young professionals we might be wrestling with -- to the media's glee -- he's never once doubted Halifax's ability to wreck any other team on the ice, he never once saw us as anything less than a Cup-ready team. Was he delusional for believing in that so strongly?
[Pel looks up and grins wryly now.]
PEL: OK, it might have been -- but, tabernak the cup's got all our names on it now, doesn't it? And I don't think it's wrong to give Dicky maybe more than a fair share of the credit for that. It'd be nice to see them all there again at the end of this year too as a send-off and a credit to his misplaced fondness of this hot mess of a team.
[Pel salutes, and winks.]
PEL: So yeah, here's to you Dick Hocolate. Calgary will have no idea what's hit them. Stay good, brother.
[She slumps, looks off camera.]
PEL: That good enough?
UNKNOWN: I -- yeah, hon. You're done, that'll work fi --
Hero? Well it has to be, Colin Banning. I’ve played with this guy forever on Manitoba Provincial teams and in as many extra camps we could get into. It kind of became my motivation – whatever Colin was doing … whatever he was learning … I wanted to do as well. We’re not related, but … he’s like a brother to me.
He really has shaped my formation as a player. He was always preaching – two-way responsibilities. Everything is two-way … this game is two-way … and you should want to be a part of all of it. Grinding the puck down low to work the cycle and set up the scoring chance and then rushing back on the back-check to cover your defensive zones. That transition from one to the other; being the key. How you wrap your mind around it. We might have played different positions, but I pride myself on being a two-way forward because he is the quintessential two-way defenceman. I guess that’s what you do when you look up to someone. You want to emulate them in any way. Sincerest form of flattery, right?
Man, it was so cool to see him drafted yesterday, to Halifax. I’m really happy for him. And I hope, with luck, that I’ll be able to join him in the SMJHL next year. Gotta put in the work now though, as Banner always says. Never stop grinding. And … wouldn’t it be amazing if somehow I ended up on the Raiders too?
Halifax Raiders center, Alex Reed, stared down at an old Winnipeg Free Press newspaper clipping that had spilled from a moving box that Reed had just accidentally dropped off his new kitchen counter. Snatching it from the ground, he read it intently for a few moments, before finally shaking his head and crumpling the paper apathetically in his hand.
With a toss, it rattled around a nearby waste-baskets rim before falling inside, and the forever sunk into the abyss of the worthless.
ej27 Registered
S41 & S42 Challenge Cup Champion and Mikkamigo
Alonzo Garbanzo has been lighting up the league during his time in Minnesota, and for many he is considered one of the next great defenseman of this generation, even potentially becoming one of the top defensemen ever. However, Garbanzo still plays in the shadow of a defenseman who is argued to be the very best, and that is former Texas Renegade and current hall of famer Chris Partlow.
Partlow has been one of the most dominant defensemen in recent memory, winning multiple Challenge Cups and was the last defenseman to win the Ron Mexico for league MVP before Garbanzo and a couple of other defensemen began proving they deserved to win it. Partlow leads all defensemen in goals, is one of the highest point getters, and has one of the best SHL legacy scores in history because of his accomplishments. His physical play as also something to behold, and it is something that Garbanzo has started to show in his own game.
Garbanzo never was able to play with the great Chris Partlow, but from watching him as a youngster to playing against him in his later years, Garbanzo admires him as a player and hopes that one day he may be able to be thought of in the same level as Partlow.
Alonzo Garbanzo Final Tallies (Among Defensemen):
2nd in Goals (208), All-Time Assists Leader (765)*, All-Time Points Leader (973), 3rd in Hits (2587), All-Time Blocked Shots Leader (1882)* *All-Time Leader Among All Skaters Player Profile | Update Thread
Ghost Registered
S36, S40, S42 Challenge Cup Champion
Every young defender coming into the league these days seems to look up to Vladimir Lidstrom, and I am no different.
Lidstrom is a very easy player to look to as a hero, his on ice preformance the last couple years has been phenomenal and he's still progressing. Lidstrom is an elite offensive defenceman who posted 11 goals and 45 assists last year in just 50 games. Along with his clutch performances during the playoffs with the Texas Renegades, he is a player who I'd love to model my career around. With my time spent around the Renegades this off season I can also vouch for Lidstroms off ice philanthropy as he has two different charities that he's a major part of.
As a offensive defender myself, I hope to one day have the success at the rink that he has and I am one of the lucky few drafted by Texas so I will have a chance to learn the trade from one of the all time greats. Lidstroms vision is second to none and I think that when I'm on the ice I have really similar vision with one minor difference: Lidstrom sees a play developing and makes an amazing pass while I see a play developing and make room for myself to receive a pass and put the puck in the net myself.
There are some similarities and differences between Lidstroms play and mine, but his production and game changing abilities is exactly some of the traits I will strive to have at the SHL level and that's what makes Vladimir Lidstrom my hero.
BasedMinkus![[Image: aOowRDF.png]](https://i.imgur.com/aOowRDF.png)
![[Image: sIjpJeQ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/sIjpJeQ.png)
![[Image: Bk1689.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Bk1689.gif)
![[Image: 4zfXx6o.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/4zfXx6o.gif)
![[Image: IeEV7Iv.png]](https://i.imgur.com/IeEV7Iv.png)
![[Image: WtrC9qy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/WtrC9qy.png)
![[Image: HiKTQ6i.png]](http://i.imgur.com/HiKTQ6i.png)
![[Image: 4sN9yMR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4sN9yMR.png)
![[Image: YoDdzU8.png]](http://i.imgur.com/YoDdzU8.png)
![[Image: DrbPYHV.png]](http://i.imgur.com/DrbPYHV.png)
![[Image: UDyqktK.png]](http://i.imgur.com/UDyqktK.png)
![[Image: WEd1wid.png]](https://i.imgur.com/WEd1wid.png)
![[Image: Untit.png]](https://s11.postimg.org/kwvt2yhn7/Untit.png)
![[Image: 3rYLp4S.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/3rYLp4S.jpg)
![[Image: 45029_v.gif]](http://signavatar.com/45029_v.gif)
