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Salming · 11-01-2022, 09:55 AM

12th of May in 2034 (29th of October in 2022 in real life) was a historic day in the SHL universum. Seattle Argonauts

won game seven 9-1 at home against Manhattan Rage on the SHL finals of season 67. That victory meant that a Finnish two-way winger William Salming won the only trophy he was still missing, fabulous Challenge Cup. It was a dream come true for him after a long two-year real life grind in Seattle's organisation. Previously Salming had won the Four Star Cup on S58 Citadelles

, IIHF Gold Medal three times with Team Finland Finland

(S62, S64 and S66) and twice in a row World Junior Championships (S57-58) also with Team Finland Finland

. Our print media was lucky to get an interview from mr. William Salming himself shortly after recent championships party.

Reporter: Thank you for taking your time with us, William. As always, our great readers love your fun, nice, exciting, wonderful, amazing, unbelievable, awesome, marvelous, fascinating, fantastic, incredible, stunning, surprising, brilliant, cool, enjoyable, pleasant, superb, sensational, terrific, outstanding, phenomenal, tremendous, chilly, unreal and exotic personality. It has been a while since we have last talked because our latest interview session was after your prime year (season 64) when your perfomance level was over 1900 TPE.

Salming: No problem, my pleasure. As always, I like to give these print media interviews for your fantastic readers. But yeah, it has been a while since we last talked to each other. Nowadays I am not anymore 1900+ player (personal best 1929). During our cup run I was about 1750 TPE player and now after recent regression I will begin next season probably with 1550+ TPE. Father Time unfortunately comes to ruin every player's career at some point. I try to fight against it with quality exercises during summers but it is not easy to be a veteran player at this league, I have to admit it. You become slower every year and also your shooting accuracy goes down little bit. And with worse movement, it is tougher to get open on shooting positions on the offensive zone. However, my defensive skills have been stayed pretty same during last years which is important because I have been on top penalty kill unit in the Seattle many seasons and it is something I am proud of to help the team that way.

Reporter: Before we talk about season 67, tell us shortly about seasons 65 and 66.

Salming: Sure. Well, on season 65 we lost to San Francisco Pride on the first round of playoffs in six games. Panthers and Pride were just better teams than us on that season already on the regular season and there is not much to add to that. Season 66 was better and we were able to make a deep run in the playoffs for the first time. Even though we were again third in our division with a record of 40-20-6, playoffs went better especially thanks to our goalie Willie Miller who played like an MVP. On the first round we got the revenge from San Francisco and beat them 4-2. Second round went even better. We won both road games in Los Angeles and then also swept them at home. 4-0 was unreal result from that series. In the conference finals our opponent was a good hockey club named Chicago Syndicate but somehow Miller was better than Smith in the net (Mat is usually clutch in the playoffs, I know it since our time together in Quebec City and Team Finland) and we won 4-2. Chicago won first two games but after that we won four in a row. Actually, same had happened already on round one against San Francisco.

In the finals we faced a powerhouse named Atlanta Inferno, another expansion team from season 56. It was that way a very exciting match-up. Unfortunately for us, Atlanta was too strong. Even though series was tied after four games and we even won game four massively 7-3, Inferno kept home ice advantage in game five with 9-3 win and then beat us on game six 2-4. That final loss was also first in my career. Previously, I had a 5-0 record in the finals (Four Star Cup, 2x IIHF and 2x WJC). It was a weird feeling to lose a title match if you could say so with boxing terms. But it also gave me a more motivation towards next season like for of course other players too.

Reporter: And offseason was a wild one for you. General Manager Tig and co-GM JuOSu deciced to go pretty much all-in and try to win the cup sooner than later. In a massive three-team trade between Seattle, Los Angeles and Edmonton, Seattle traded its first round picks on S68, S69 and S71 as well as Simonsson, Williams and Centerman IV in exchange of top defender Jonas Kahnwald, top center Luukas Lilja and winger Jimmy Wagner. And when it comes to first round pick of S70, Seattle traded it couple days earlier for Atlanta and got in exchange another top center Anton Mihailov who had lead Atlanta to Challenge Cup win.

Salming: Our GM duo reacted to our problems which was a good thing. During our run to cup finals, number one center between me and Podcalzone was a young Max Manning (1500 TPE about) because a veteran two-way center Söderberg-Tremblay was traded to San Francisco on previous off-season. Even though we mentored Manning closely, maybe he was in too tough spot when Atlanta had centers like Mihailov for example to play against him. But Manning got a valuable experience to play against top tier competition and put up 14 points in 22 games. Thanks to that experience he had 24 points in 23 games this season in the playoffs even though he played as a third-line winger. And from this point on, he will be a very valuable piece in the Seattle's forward group when veteran players like me start to slowly decline. But yeah, getting Lilja and Mihailov for our top two centers was a massive boost because we were able to move Hobbes for a 3C position and that guy was our best scorer in the playoffs on S66 with legendary wingers Slate and Pritchard. And of course Kahnwald for defence was a great add too. I remember playing many times in the juniors against Newfoundland and Kahnwald was always hardest defender to play against so I was happy that he was now a part of our club.

Reporter: Okay, let's talk about then about season 67. You were probably favourites in odds before the season thanks to those off-season moves. But beginning of the season was a mediocre, why?

Salming: It takes always time to develop chemistry with new guys. Even though we won five of first eight games, level of play was only solid and not excellent. From the first 22 games our record was 13-7-2. Again, it was a decent start but not great. I wrote on Twitter that "It is a good situation to go through small crisis now instead of playoffs." And that was true like I knew it was. Our coaching staff decided to make small adjustments and they began to work. After regular season our record was 43-19-4 and with 90 points we were fifth best team in the league. Goal differential was nice +83. We lost top spot in the division by one point for a surprise team Calgary but it was a good situation to begin playoffs as an underdog instead of top favourite which was Winnipeg because it collected 103 points.

About those adjustments, at the beginning Salming-Lilja-Podcalzone was a first line, Slate-Mihailov-Pritchard second and Manning-Hobbes-Wagner third. After adjustments, coaches deciced to give Mihailov's line harder match-ups and upgraded them for a first line on paper and we dropped for a second line. It helped especially Lilja and Podcalzone to pop up offensively. My job was to balance them with a reliable two-way game as always. In the end, Lilja had a massive season with 101 points (55+46) and also captain Podcalzone scored 79 points. Mihailov's point total was "only" 71 after earlier monster season but his two-way game against opponent's best lines was crucial for our success. Slate and Wagner also had 60+ point seasons. My point total was 59 but I was happy about plus-minus of +39 which was third best in the team behind K. Murphy and Lilja. Of course it would have been nice to get 60 points on the fourth season in a row (60, 62 and 65 points on three previous seasons) but team success was most important thing because after final loss to Atlanta, only mission on season 67 was to win the cup. Even though I missed a 60-point mark by one point, I had second season in a row over 40 assists.

When it comes to defenders, coaches made same kind of switch there. Kahnwald-Urquhart started season as a top pair but after adjustments, K. Murphy-Fischermann was upgraded from second pair to first pair. Ramsbottom-T. Murphy was all the time reliable third pair for us. And in addition of match-up adjustments, there were also some minor changes in player roles. For example, I tried to be more a perimeter shooter than a dangler when season went on.

Reporter: Let's talk about your playoff run then. How you prepared for it?

Salming: I knew that my role was to be on top PK unit and second PP. I knew we have guys who will take care of scoring enough goals. That's why I decided to focus on my training only to boost defensive skills and for the first time in my career, I upgraded my performance level to 19 in one category. I have been on level 18 on many things in our inner tests on Argonauts laboratory (like passing, puckhandling, offensive and defensive read, stamina, balance etc.) but thanks to that hard defensive training, laboratory tests told me that my defensive read is now 19. It was a massive boost before playoffs where special teams can easily decide who wins and who loses.

Reporter: Sounds logical. First opponent was very familiar, San Francisco.

Salming: Yes. We have met so many times in recent years on the first round of playoffs that there wasn't any surprises for neither team. But I think our depth in attack and defence was better and that's why we swept them 4-0. There was two big wins 8-1 and 2-7. Captain Pod lead us with ten points in only four games and Miller was again in net dominant like on S66 playoffs.

Reporter: Second round opponent was Calgary. And you had no home ice advantage. How was it?

Salming: It was a good test for us how good we really are. First two games at road, Calgary was a better team and won both of those contest. We had a rest day before that series so maybe it showed a little bit on those games and we were rusty. But we didn't give up and won four straight after that. It was a first sign how strong our group is mentally. Lilja had seven points in our first two home games and Urquhart had a monster game five on the road to mention some individual success. And of course on previous season we had already came back twice from 0-2 deficit to win series 4-2 so we used those experiences also this year to help us. Playing hockey is a continuing learning process.

Reporter: In the conference finals you played against top favourite Winnipeg. Tell us about that exciting series.

Salming: It began well on the road. Kermit scored the game winner on overtime when we won 3-2. We also won game two 0-3 thanks to Miller's shutout so it was great road trip. But after that road wins continued at our home and Winnipeg won game three before we ended away win streak at game four with a 4-3 win. Ramsbottom had a two-goal game. After 40 minutes we were down 0-2 but made then a great 3rd period comeback with four goals. That was a next sign about our group's mental strength.

Game five on the road was a tight match. It ended 4-3 for Winnipeg. I accidentally looked the score board wrong when I was on the bench and celebrated victory after final whistle but because others were so silent, I understood that we had lost 4-3 instead of win. When playing emotionally tough games, sometimes you lose the understanding of reality when you are so into the game and that is was happened for me. I focused so hard for next shift that I missed the real score line. I shouted out loud "WE ARE THROUGH" little bit too early, haha. But luckily we were then able to beat Winnipeg at game six at home. Atmosphere was awesome thanks to our loyal fans and we won 6-1. Podcalzone and Slate had three point games in that decisive match and we went to the finals on the second season in a row.

Reporter: In the Challenge Cup finals on season 67 your opponent was Manhattan Rage. They had a similar surprise playoff run than you guys had one season earlier, am I right?

Salming: Correct. To be honest, I was pretty confident that thanks to home ice, we should be able to win the championships. Manhattan was 9th in regular season with 79 points in 66 games. Its away record was decent 18-12-3 but our home record was 22-8-3. Of course Manhattan had beaten great teams like Philadelphia, Atlanta and Montreal on previous rounds so we needed to keep our focus.

Game one was a shocker. Rage won it 0-3. However, I knew we will bounce back like I tweeted already during our second round match-up against Dragons. We won game two 5-4. Like against Winnipeg once, we made a massive 3rd period comeback on that game 2 because we were three goals behind but thanks to another four-goal third period, series was tied 1-1 when we travelled to Manhattan. Manning, Lilja and K. Murphy were our heroes on that magical third period. Miller's night in the net was a disaster because he gave up four goals on seven shots but when he needed help, I was happy that we skaters were able to produce and save his ass once when he had saved us so many times with his unreal saves. Shots on goal were in the end 36-14.

Game three was a nail-biter but we took home ice advantage back with a 5-6 OT win. Long-time Argonauts winger Pritchard got a reward from his efforts and scored a hat trick in that game. And we again showed how strong we are mentally because Manhattan lead that match 4-0 in the early stages and Miller had another bad game to be honest. Game four went to Manhattan 2-0. They tightened their defence and we had a weak day when it comes to accuracy of shots.

Game five began well. I scored the first goal and we lead 1-0 on the first intermission. It was my second goal of the campaign after beginning playoffs with 0+10 stat line. But lead was not enough. Rage scored a couple of empty netters in the end and beat us 1-4 even though shots on goal were 50-28.

Before game six I said in our locker room that for some us this is the most important match of our careers. We had five players on the roster who had previously won the Cup but I wasn't one of them. Before the game I also prayed that FHM gods would let us experience unique game seven at home in the finals. And we got our once in a lifetime experience because score line in the game 6 was 2-5. Mihailov had a game-winning goal and Lilja continued his hot streak with a couple of goals. It was a professional road steal.

Game seven. Two magic words. And to experience it in front of our amazing home fans in Seattle was a once in a lifetime experience like I said. Once again, I said before the game in the locker room that again we have ahead most important match of our careers. It helped. We rolled over Manhattan. Its puck luck ended and to be honest we had some bounces on our side. After the first period game was pretty much over because we lead 5-0. After ten minutes it was already 3-0. Everything started with a goal on first shift by Mihailov and soon after that, at 02:08 our captain Vaseline Podcalzone scored cup-clinching goal from the assists of myself and Lilja. It was an offensive zone draw which Lilja won and I saw that Pod is open in front of net. Rest was history. Fischermann, Lilja and Wagner were other goal scorers in the first period.

Slate had a lone goal in the second period. On the second intermission our message to each other was to play smart defence during last 20 minutes to prevent any surprises. It worked even though Fiske scored early goal and destroyed Miller's shutout. Both Lilja and Slate added two more points and when we won 9-1, they both had 1+4 and were our heroes in that historic match. Of course I need to mention also Podcalzone and Fischermann who had 2+1. Especially from Landon as a defender to had two goals in a game like that was a great story. He also had a plus-minus rating of +7 to honour game seven. I was happy to collect two assists and +2. I also played 22:13 which was highest total of ice-time among our forwards. Coaches trusted me and I was proud of it. After the match I read from the newspaper that my game rating was 87 (OFF 100, DEF 73).

Reporter: Thanks for a long answer. Tell us about your feelings in the locker room after the game.

Salming: Well, of course my first words were "VAMOSSSSSS" with four hand-shake emojis to honour our four playoff series wins. After that I said thank you for everyone and even though it was already almost 2AM, I played "We are the champions" by Queen with very loud sound. Everyone in the locker room were excited and champagne bottles were empty very quick. When we began to move from the rink to our party place, I looked back little bit and found a piece of text I had wrote to Seattle's management when they were searching interested prospects to join a new expansion team. I had wrote that like this:

"7. What's something you bring to the table that would help an expansion team build for the future?

- I will be like Reilly Smith, solid two-way player who can score points and kill penalties, if needed. I am a fan of another expansion team in real life, Vegas Golden Knigts, so that's why I joined to SMJHL expansion team Quebec City Citadelles and would love to be picked to SHL expansion team because I am a person who don't like to go a table which is ready and full. I want to be a part of original building project. Of course my goal is to play at least three more seasons in SMJHL because I want to set some franchise records also on Quebec and win the junior cup there but it would be an honour to be drafted by an SHL expansion organisation too and be a part of its first championships team in the far future."

With a Challenge Cup win, all my missions were finally completed. It was an empty and happy feeling.

Reporter: What were some reasons why you think you won the cup?

Salming: Well, offseason additions Mihailov, Lilja, Wagner and Kahnwald were of course critical. But also we had already a strong core with many veteran players like me, Podcalzone, Slate, Pritchard, Hobbes, Murphy's, Urquhart and back-up goalie Odinson who had developed chemistry on previous years. It was nice to see how winger pairs like me and Podcalzone and Slate-Pritchard were been together very long time and it paid off in those tight playoff matches because we always knew were our teammates were on the ice.

All good teams need also some youth talent. That is what we had from S61 and S62 drafts. Like I wrote earlier, Manning had 24 points in the playoffs, Fischermann had a monster game seven and Miller played second season in a row like an MVP in the net. Also Ramsbottom was an important third pair defender who killed lots of penalties with Urquhart. When we talked last time after season 64, I answered one of your questions like this:

Reporter: In the end I would like to ask about your future. You have still two seasons left with the Argonauts. I guess championship title is the ultimate goal to win during next seasons?

Salming: Yes it is because I only miss Challenge Cup from my trophy room, haha. I am not interested about individual prizes. I want my team to have success and that's why I have agreed with Team Finland to play as a defender this year in the IIHF event even though I could have my best year offensively on international stage but because there are some injuries in our back end, someone needs to drop down to defence and I was willing to do that. And I don't have anymore so much pressure to have success on international games after already winning the gold medal there.

But when it comes to Seattle, this season 64 was a little bit re-tool year for us. We had three new rookies and they needed to learn about demand level of SHL. You have to be an athlete 24/7 to have success. I guess all of them (Max Manning, Landon Fischermann and Willie Miller) played solidly. Miller also gave us a chance to win in the playoffs. Especially his development will be crucial for us because without a good goaltender you don't win anything. That is a lesson I have learned in Quebec City and international games. In the Quebec we had Mat Smith in the net and he was clutch in junior playoffs. In the first WJC gold medal run I guess our netminder was RART, brother of JURT, and then in IIHF gold medal run Carpet was amazing as human wall. I think Miller showed already some flashes about his potential this year and if he continues his development, our future will be bright and we will advance at least once to conference finals.

I also expect that Max continues his development and becomes a big offensive player for us in the future. And when it comes to Fischermann, his role should increase in the defence in the future too and if he plays as well as in juniors when he enters his prime in the SHL, our defence looks solid too when seasons go on from this point because Murphy's, Centerman IV and Urquhart are good pieces for this league alongside Landon. I think our core will stay together pretty nicely and when we get a couple of new rookies also next season in Sconnie McHits and Wendolene Ramsbottom, maybe next year is also some kind of a re-tool season but a season after that should be a year when we should be able to at least repeat our regular season record from season 63 (40+ wins in 66 games) and hopefully go far in the playoffs. It is also last season of my current contract but I can't see any reasons why I wouldn't play my whole career here because I enjoy the atmosphere in our home rink, weather is great and of course my teammates are good human beings. In my opinion we are building a hockey organisation which wins something big sometimes in the future. Hopefully sooner than later.

When I now look back that answer, I am very happy about how our youngsters have developed since. They have trained hard and become 24/7 athletes like you need to be in this league to have success. Max has become big offensive player I expected and Landon is a TOP4 defender. But above all like I already said couple of seasons ago, you need to have elite goaltending to win a championships title. Willie has been an elite goalie during last two playoffs and we were able to utilize that finally this season. Big respect for Manning, Fischermann, Miller and Ramsbottom. They have been good students but in the end you have to do the work by yourself to become a good hockey player.

And to conclude this answer, I need to say once again that we were mentally strongest team in the playoffs. It showed especially in the conference finals and finals when we had couple of those 3rd period comebacks.

Reporter: Finally, it is time to talk about your sick career record in the finals. It was 5-0 before final loss to Atlanta but after that you won again IIHF gold medal on S66 and now Challenge Cup on S67 so the William Salming's career record in the finals is now 7-1. How does it sound? Almost as good as Michael Jordan's 6-0 in the NBA finals?

Salming: I have been lucky to play in great clubs with good teammates. I also enjoy to be in pressure situations. There is no better place as an athlete than to test yourself against best competitors in the world in the title matches. You win or you lose. There are no other options. Since childhood I have been good at big games and I am happy it has carried to adult hockey too. Also atmosphere in locker rooms in Quebec City, Seattle and Finland has been fantastic and without good spirit you can't just win.

When it comes to comparison to mr. Jordan, he has one title less than I have so maybe I am better one, haha? No, I am just kidding. That one loss to Atlanta seals it that Jordan is the GOAT but when I look back, I understand it was crucial to lose to Atlanta because otherwise you can't learn to win. One season before Four Star Cup, we lost in the semi-finals and season after that we were winners. Also on Team Finland we won some bronze medals before WJC and IIHF titles. I have had some luck to lose before finals like in the semis so that's why that career record in the finals looks so incredible. But at some level I can call myself a proven winner. I can't deny it.

Reporter: You are 23rd member of the Quad Gold Club, congratulations. You are a three-time world champion and both of your club titles have become with expansion teams. And you have been part of those both expansion teams since the very beginning because you joined to Quebec City Citadelles as an free agent just before it began its first season and when it comes to Seattle, you are part of its very first draft class from season 56 (#44 overall pick). Your winning percentage in the finals is stunning 87,5%. You are also franchise leader in Argonauts' history in short-handed points, tied first in games with Podcalzone and Centerman IV (594) and also second in assists, points and takeaways. I know you don't care about so much about individual awards but is it possible that when all is said and done on some day, we will see you on the hockey hall of fame?

Salming: You are correct that team success has always meant for me more than individual awards. I haven't been ever nominated to any awards or even play in an All-Star game in any level. I have just tried to do my own job on the ice as an humble two-way winger. Also on the SHL draft I dropped all the way to the third round before mr. Tig luckily drafted me to Seattle. In every team I have grinded my way from the fourth or third line towards bigger role. I haven't rushed. Only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. I feel proud to have been top penalty killer in cup runs here in Seattle and also earlier in Quebec City. Other people are more clever than me and I let them decide in the end who deserve to be in the hall of fame but of course there are no many players with all four championships. It has been five seasons since my Finnish teammates Mat Smith and Lemo Pihl were introduced to Quad Gold Club as its latest members before me. It is an honour to join that elite club.

Reporter: Final question is about future. You have one season left of your 6M contract. Thoughts about that?

Salming: I am excited to play a SHL season as a reigning champion. All other teams wants to beat us because we are latest winners so every single night will be a good test for us and we need to be ready for that. There are no easy games coming on the regular season, I am sure about that.

I think this will be my last season in 6M salary category but of course I am interested to play my whole career in Seattle as long as management wants to trust my services. I am ready to cut my salary if necessary and play even in the third line which I haven't done since my first couple of seasons in Seattle. We have also a tight battle with my draft class mate Podcalzone when it comes to leading the franchise in assists. He passed me during last season and has now a lead with seven assists (282 vs. 275) but I hope to bounce back in that stat category, hah. In total points game is already over.

Reporter: Okay, sounds fun. I think we are ready. Thank you very much for this interview and good luck for the IIHF playoffs and next SHL season!

Salming: Thank you very much and greetings for your readers. IIHF has began well because we are second in our group behind Great Britain. Individually, there haven't been signs about cup hangover because of nine points (2+7) in first eight games which I consider is a good stat line so far. Hopefully we can repeat our gold medal.

Words: 5077

***Chevy*** · 11-01-2022, 10:05 AM

Quote:12th of May in 2034 (29th of November in 2022 in real life) was a historic day in the SHL universum.

29th of November!?

Great Scott! He's from the future!

Also, congrats on the Quad gold and great read!!!

Matteo · 11-01-2022, 10:13 AM

You love to see Salming championships. VAMOS

Salming · 11-01-2022, 10:17 AM

11-01-2022, 10:05 AMChevy Wrote:
Quote:12th of May in 2034 (29th of November in 2022 in real life) was a historic day in the SHL universum.

29th of November!?

Great Scott! He's from the future!

Also, congrats on the Quad gold and great read!!!

Thank you, I fix that.

***WannabeFinn*** · 11-01-2022, 10:35 AM

Good stuff

***notorioustig*** · 11-01-2022, 10:42 AM

VAMOS

*Jayba1t* · 11-01-2022, 10:44 AM

Congrats!

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