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Keenan · 02-08-2021, 01:02 AM

Written task: It’s time for another exciting season of SHL Hockey, unfortunately, with COVID still running around fans still aren’t allowed in the arena. Without the cheering it does seem a bit empty for gameday. Since fans aren't allowed in SHL arenas this season, how are you and your teammates getting pumped prior to the game to replace the energy the fans give you? (150+ words)

Graphic task: Show how all those empty seats in your arena are being used since they're not hosting fans.

You will receive 3 TPE for fulfilling all requirements.
Deadline: Sunday, February 14th at 11:59PM ET

Affiliate claims from either PBE or ISFL are accepted; link directly to your post and note if your username is different there.
If you have any questions/concerns, please PM me.

This task is for SHL players and send downs only, it is not for SMJHL rookies.

***hockeyiscool*** · 02-08-2021, 01:03 AM

Well, getting hyped up has been pretty easy to do. Each player has their own unique way to get pumped up but some vices were a problem and have taken time to get used to or have been outright destructive. Towards the beginning training camp, Justin Keahi offered me some, to keep this kid friendly I’ll call it “big league chew” or “the chew”. He would often use “big league chew” while we were training to improve his gains but we noticed it had a cost. It caused him to get really aggressive. During training camp he randomly freaked out on our up and coming newbie Vladmir Petrov and actually caused an abdominal strain from the fists of Justin. Keahi being ultra aggressive wasn’t all bad. It was fun to see his wrath be used on the other teams during the beginning of pre-season. He got in fights in our first two games and it was entertaining, if we had a crowd the atmosphere would have been electric . He ended the pre-season with the most hits in the league but he also had the most penalty minutes by a wide margin and was a clear detriment to the team. We knew we couldn’t make a push for the playoffs with him still on “the chew”. So we had an intervention and since then Justin has laid off the Chew. The rest of us just listen to our own respective music that hypes us up. Panda Panico keeps listening to “Welcome to the Jungle” on repeat at full blast of his zune.

siddhus · 02-08-2021, 01:03 AM

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Dextaria · 02-08-2021, 01:04 AM

Even though there is a lack of fans in the stands, the players of the Toronto North Stars know that this season is going to be the start of something amazing. The fans and organization have high expectations so although the players would love to have their support in the stands, that's still not going to stop them from hyping each other up. Entering the locker room you can already hear the music going. The louder players of the group in Luffy and Scoochie are screaming loudly in the locker room getting themselves and the team energized. Then, there's the veterans in Carpy and Lane that are giving pep talks to the team, encouraging the younger players in Slate , Jones, and Juni who are starting off their rookie seasons. Each and every player is getting dialed in and before they walk out of the dressing room the coach and players yell a loud North Stars cheer that echoes through the empty arena. The veterans give head pats to every player heading through the tunnel and the players explode on the ice with music playing loudly in the background. It's game time and they all know it. During the game, loud cheers and shouts can be heard from the bench with stick taps for every big hit and occasional fight. Without the fans, it's certainly a little harder to get hyped, but the team has each other.

***yosh*** · 02-08-2021, 01:04 AM

Three words: Locker Room DJ.

Every team has one, a guy that plugs in his phone on the locker room speaker and starts blasting the team’s Spotify playlist before everyone takes the ice. It really gets the players going.

The position of Locker Room DJ is a hugely respected position on any team, and for the Newfoundland Berserkers, that’s certainly the case. Many members of the team volunteered as tributes to be the team DJ, with team GM Juke promising he’d blast pop punk tunes.

Ultimately, it’s not really the DJ making the picks anymore as it is a team having a collab playlist with some shared beloved tunes. Either way, a good pre-game jam can certainly get them going before they take the ice.

Would Vaseline Podcalzone ever volunteer as Locker Room DJ? Nobody’s ever offered him the aux cord and they’re not sure what tunes he’d blast out, but Podcalzone wouldn’t shy away from an opportunity to drop some beats.

WC: 162

**_Blitz_** · 02-08-2021, 01:05 AM

Toronto is kind of relaxed. I don't think any of us are really the "jumping with energy" type of guys. In that respect, our routine hasn't changed much. Whoever's first in the locker room turns the music on. It's not loud, but it's not so low that everybody is encouraged to whisper. The rest of us come in, we get dressed. Mika and Bobby make the rounds checking in with everybody. Scoochie's chirping like a bird and gets a few chuckles here and there. Carpy's got his coffee. Zapo and I play Rock, Paper, Scissors or Paper Football. Somebody mentions food and we all have to chime in. Once everybody's ready, coach comes in with the markers to go over the game plan on the whiteboard.

The real deviation is when we step out into the hallway. When there's fans in the stands, there's music going real loud and everybody sounds like they're yelling. We end up yelling down in the tunnel because it all just echoes. Walking out the door becomes Show Time. "This is where the fun begins." Without the fans, it's the same sort of relaxed quiet that it's been in the locker room. It almost feels like practice. We're here for business as usual, but we're a little goofy about it. It might take a little bit to settle in and snap back to "this is a live game" in our heads. You can't just rip bar downskis on Soonika or Jobin like we do on Scoochie in practice, y'know? We do eventually get there but it's a little weird to be playing another team with no crowd noise because the crowd noise has been the major indicator mentally that it's not practice.

***Faelax*** · 02-08-2021, 01:11 AM

While it does suck to play in empty arenas all season, it is something that I have been used to growing up. Before I joined the SMJHL, I had been playing for a small high school team, usually having no more than a dozen people in attendance at any particular game. A few of me and my teammates parents or friends at home games was usually all the crowd we saw back then. Away games were so quiet you could hear every single chirp from all across the ice, or every little swear that slipped out on a missed pass or bad dump in. I do hope we can get back to having fans in the stands here soon. Nothing beats skating out on home ice to the roar of a crowd, or the deafening silence that comes when you score an empty netter to seal a win on the road. It will be nice to get back to something that feels normal.

**JamesT** · 02-08-2021, 01:15 AM

Code:
It’s time for another exciting season of SHL Hockey, unfortunately, with COVID still running around fans still aren’t allowed in the arena. Without the cheering it does seem a bit empty for gameday. Since fans aren't allowed in SHL arenas this season, how are you and your teammates getting pumped prior to the game to replace the energy the fans give you? (150+ words)

COVID has impacted everyone's life and with the world still trying to adapt to the new normal the SHL has decided that no fans will be permitted in the stands during games. Nothing can ever beat hearing the live crowd cheer/boo or provide that energy in an arena so it will definitely be and feel different this year when playing games.

We are going to have to rely on ourselves to provide that extra spark when playing and having to adjust with no live crowd. One thing that our team decided to do this season was to have outside our team locker room, letters written from Edmonton Blizzard

fans to the team. We got to take a look at them recently and see how COVID has impacted their lives and how grateful they are to see us back playing hockey. Every time we are about to hit the ice we will walk by and remember that the city of Edmonton is still with us even though they cannot be during this global pandemic.

(174 words)

BasedMinkus · 02-08-2021, 01:15 AM

It has sucked that COVID has done so much damage to the world and in the grand scheme of things, having fans not being in an arena is pretty inconsequential. The roar of the crowd is great and fun when moments happen but it has never been a part of my ability to get energized. The stuff that get me energized and hyped before and during a game are the things that have been in my life as a hockey player forever. I have played in empty barns and have found a way to get up. The biggest thing for me is knowing I have 19 other guys in that locker room to answer for and to help make better. We feed off of each other and that love and respect for each other is what gets me hyped and keeps me in the game. I will miss the crowds but it will not stop me from helping my time stay energized and win games.

165

MrRuihu · 02-08-2021, 01:20 AM

Covid happening this year, and last year? yeah last year, has really affected the teams morale, we felt especially sluggish and slow trying to get pumped up for games simply because you come out onto the ice and it's just .. deafening silence in the arena. No cheering fans, no one yelling your names from the stands asking for pucks and autographs. so what we've done to get ourselves pumped up after every game is to go on twitter and read all the hate we're getting from other teams fans before the game, just really see all the hate we're generating, then use that hate to lay the biggest hits and the dirtiest dangles on them. just really let them have it. sometimes we might even get a snarky comment or two placed in there to just really add insult to injury, like you think you're so clever huh? you don't know SHIRT about our team, we're gonna blow your minds with our abilities, especially to be tough behind out computer monitors. you better watch out, we're not just keyboard warriors, we're keyboard KNIGHTS.

Rotti · 02-08-2021, 01:27 AM

There's nothing like getting pumped before a Hamilton Steelhawks tilt at the bird's nest. The Steelhawks usually feed off of our fan's energy big time, so its a bit hard to get that same juice going when they aren't here to cheer us along for the beginning of the season. How will we recover? Well, we're going to listen to our favorite artist turned hockey player, Jason Desrealeaux. Jason plays for the Winnipeg Aurora, and has many hit songs in his young career so far. We blast his hits in the locker room, do some dancing, then go out there and do the best we can every night! Jason has some great music, I implore everyone to go and listen and buy his music. he is poor. and needs money to buy training. Please help him. Also sometimes we do some fun games before the game. I don't know man, we just get hyped.

*DELIRIVM* · 02-08-2021, 01:46 AM

The Baltimore Platoon always start getting pumped about 2 hours before the game. The PA guy turns music on full blast and the Platoon players put on figure skates and have a pregame disco boogie. Nothing really helps get a team started than dancing to some really great music. The Platoon playlist is then used during commercial breaks. You'll often catch guys like Lord Raiden, Valentin Kalashnikov, Karl Krashwagen, Daniil Nikiforov, and even Luca Del Vecchio dancing a little when the live stream comes back after a break. Since there are two new rookies and a new veteran in Ivan Maximus this season, the more veteran Platoon players have been seeing getting them involved. Daniil Nikiforov has recently been found urging Teddy Park to show off the dance moves he was apparently known for in Kelowna. But the Russian/English connection might have not fully been understood, as Park was mostly know for fighting, aka Dancing.

[157 Words]

Matteo · 02-08-2021, 02:00 AM

In Quebec City we're used to a loud arena full of lots of French angry Citadelles fans, so not having anyone in the arena was definitely a very noticeable change. It has been nice not hearing "MAKE A SAVE MON TABARNAK" from behind me every time I let in a goal, but it also did feel good every time I made a big save and the crowd went wild. To get us hyped before the games and keep us hyped between periods, the team has a great playlist going where we add pump up songs like Thunderstruck by AC/DC (really any AC/DC song does the trick), and You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi. I think my favourite has to be Tubthumping by Chumbawamba, but I gotta say that drinking some whisky drinks, some vodka drinks, some lager drinks, and some cider drinks, is a good recipe for a bad time, and was the cause of the worst game of my career the following afternoon.

*Ferda* · 02-08-2021, 02:21 AM

for the buffalo stampede the only pumping that takes place right now is in the locker room with all the boys huddled together before, during, and after the game. over the past offseason, everyone has taken the opportunity to get nice, thick, and bulky, to maximize the satisfaction of pumping each other on the daily basis. with our state of the art meow mix diet and pumping workouts, the buffalo stampede look more cohesive and stickier than ever. our trainers have found that consuming copious amounts of meow mix, along with periodically lathering the skin, is essential in improving physical and mental health, along with drastic improvements in team chemistry. also, instead of watching game tape, our trainers have found that watching game phootage is useless because everyone cheats in this league now. instead, we have started watching cute cats and adult videos together to increasing the pumping that takes place in the team. the only reason why the other teams below chicago, hamilton and buffalo is because they arent pumping nearly as hard or as often as they need to in order to be good in this league lol losers

*Keven* · 02-08-2021, 03:29 AM

In an attempt to inspire and rejuvenate the team during these difficult times without fans in attendance, the Quebec City Citadelles have been asking for audio clips to be submitted by fans that will be played during practices, before games, and during intermissions. These audio clips can be anything that the fans decide! Some fans have submitted their favourite songs for the team to warm up to, while others have recorded personal messages detailing how certain players have acted as inspirations in their lives. These clips are played over the announcement system to be heard by everyone so that discussion can be sparked between everyone in the building. This also helps to remind the players that the fans are still there to support the Citadelles even if they aren't in the stands. In addition to the announcement system being used to play submitted audio clips, the fans are also able to submit video clips to be played on the jumbotron or be projected onto the ice to provide an even greater sense of presence and help give the team extra energy.

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