I never thought I would be a Vancouver Whaler… yet here I am. If you asked me in Season 27 (yes, that long ago), the answer would’ve been “hell no”. Here we are, though, at the turn of the Season 70 calendar, and a RainDelay player is set to suit up in good ol’ green and blue. The resounding no of old has nothing to do with the players on the team, then or now, but rather how my original league experience was shaped. It’s human nature to stick to the locker room that you began with on this site, so who could blame me? I started in Montreal, back when they were the Impact, ripping off the Major League Soccer franchise of the same name. The way I saw it, the Vancouver Whalers were the enemy. Rivals. A team that I would not envision myself playing for. The same could easily be said for the Detroit Falcons, St. Louis Scarecrows and Kelowna Knights, perhaps especially the latter. I was Montreal Impact/Militia through and through, and nothing could take that away from me. Loyal until the day I die. The users who I created alongside and welcomed me into their arms as a team, no, a family, gave me a comfortable feeling that is difficult to match. I have not been able to find that energy and replicate it in some of my other times that I have been a part of this site. That locker room was indicative of a different time. We used to chat in the forum locker room. Yes, young people, right here on the site. We didn’t even dream of what a Discord was. For me, this was peak SHL, and in my mind I wanted that to continue for as long as it would last.

The beauty of this league, though, lies in the sense that not all things continue. Creating players is a cycle. Rinse and repeat. I’ve had a fair share of players after Matt Lewis-Flood who were less than successful, some total busts at both levels. I am aiming to change that with my newest player, Bellamy Blake. With the revitalized attitude comes a clean slate. Just like the Montreal franchise itself, all my reservations and biases about these organizations have been wiped away and are no more than an echoed whisper in the wind. Seasons have passed, the league has changed, and so have my opinions. Now, the idea of becoming a Vancouver Whaler has not just become better, it has become exactly what I wanted. Until I heard my name called and the subsequent banter (and bad jokes :D) from the draft streamers, I wasn’t sure where I’d end up. After scouting, I definitely did not have the Whalers high on my list, not of where I wanted to go, but rather of who wanted to select me. The scouting was brief, but I’m here to prove that that does not matter. @aleks and @ArmTheSharks made the right decision selecting me when they did. It’s very likely I would not have been there much longer, so they made the right call, and I plan on proving it. It’s hard to make a name for yourself in this league, but where there’s a will there’s a way. To my teammates, do not let my past player failures distract you from what lies ahead. I am all in. Last night was just the beginning, a stepping stone to what will hopefully be something great. Dreams are slowly becoming a reality. In my dreams, I never thought I would be a Vancouver Whaler, yet here I am. Draped in green and blue, and ready to get this party started!

Matt Lewis-Flood || G || West Kendall Platoon || 1018 TPE
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Number:
------------------------------------------------------------

C.T. Carragher || F || Anaheim Outlaws || 511 TPE
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Number:
------------------------------------------------------------

Bellamy Blake || LD || Vancouver Whalers || 814 TPE
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Number:
------------------------------------------------------------

Aleksandr Iskandrov || C || Hamilton Steelhawks || Vancouver Whalers || 806 TPE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IIHF Achievements
S70 JPN: Bronze Medal (General Manager and Player)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHL Achievements