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***By-Tor*** · 09-04-2023, 11:55 AM

**I preface this article by saying it's been in the drafts for about three seasons, but there was a bit of work put in and I need the money lol. The info is getting dated, so just imagine it's S69 again. I don't want to go back through and redo this, so I'm just dropping as is.

The Rise of Winnipeg

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Introduction

There's just a different kind of buzz around Winnipeg recently. Talk to those who live in and around Winnipeg and you'll here things like: "It's a long time coming" or "We deserve this." The second thing you'll hear almost always is: "Ace and Rashford built a new dynasty here in Winnipeg."

High-level cup contenders come and go, but it just feels like Winnipeg is just built differently. I posit that the people of the SHL will be hard pressed to find a better roster than what has currently formed in Winnipeg - in the entirely of SHL history. I'm not talking about Cup success or team performance - I'm talking solely about raw skills baked into the roster. Yes, there have been major dynasties over the years (looking at you, Great Lakes), but many of those teams had the tactical prowess to elevate good rosters to great results. And, yes, I understand TPE isn't everything. But I do believe that if you construct a team with high TPE, it gives you a much better chance to win games throughout the season. Its the reason we have low TPE teams at the bottom of the standings and high TPE teams at the top. If you can build a roster than gives your group a high floor for performance, it's something to be applauded.

At the beginning of Season 69, Winnipeg averages 1543 TPE between their 17 players. The next highest team is Atlanta with 1396. That's almost a 150 TPE difference in skill per player. It's not like the lower end of the team is being propped up by high skilled players - 11 of the team's 17 players are above 1500 TPE. Most of those are yet to hit regression.

Here's an amazing stat for you, the class rank of every player currently on the Winnipeg Aurora roster: 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 30. Nine of the top 37 players in the league by TPE are on this roster.

All the credit goes to Ace and Rashford for holding a masterclass in roster building. But how did they get to this point? How can future GMs hope to replicate this success?

Well let me tell you, it was not always like this in Winnipeg.

Change in Management and Setting a Course

It seems that very few fanbases suffered as long as those loyal to the Winnipeg hockey club have. Whether it be Jets or Aurora, winning has just not been the way in this wonderful city for a long time. Between Season 50 and Season 64, Winnipeg had one season above 0.500 (Season 57). Between Season 50 and Season 64, Winnipeg went 300 - 526 - 52. That's a long time of losing basically 2/3rds of your games on average. During that time, the team only made the first round of the playoffs four times, winning a grand total of 4 games.

Let me be clear: I don't blame anyone for Winnipeg hovering in the mediocre level of the SHL for so long, it's just how it happened. Some of the best people occupied the locker room at the time. Good times were had by all. In truth, the status of Winnipeg now would not be possible if it were not for the team and roster decisions that came before a change in management.

This is when I come into the picture, personally. There are currently two users who have been with Winnipeg since before Ace arrived: tweedledunn (Gonzo Gobbledygook) and myself (Marcel Beck). We were both drafted in S60 by Kez, Chevy, and Sparky, but we were still prospects in the junior league when management changed.

So alas, in the waning days of Season 60, Kez announced that he would be stepping down as GM of the Winnipeg Aurora. "Winnipeg was struggling on the ice for a while. Chevy was my Co-GM, but he was leaving for Great Falls, so I was considering stepping down. I was talking with Ace about taking the job. Most of his ideas revolved around a rebuild - I knew it needed to be done, but kind of didn't want to trade everyone away. We had great people in the locker room, just couldn't seem to mesh on the ice. I stepped down, and Ace got the job, following his plan the whole way." Management was bequeathed to Ace to start the offseason between S60 and S61. Chevy's sentiments echoed Kez: "He and I both mutually agreed that Ace would be a fantastic replacement for us and would be able to build the Aurora up to the next step that we weren't able to get to at that time." Upon coming on board, Ace was clear in his mission: we were going into a full tilt tank and rebuild. At the time, the thought of a rebuild was not super popular with some because of their players' ages and we just went through years and years of middling seasons. But hindsight is 20/20, and a rebuild was absolutely the right play for the franchise.

The First Dominos: S61 Offseason Trades

With it being clear that Winnipeg was headed towards a full rebuild, it was Ace's task to recoup as many quality assets as possible to make the most out of the rebuild. Chevy was the Co-GM of the Aurora under Kez, but with the direction of the team and Chevy starting a team in Great Falls, it was mutually beneficial to part ways. With older players and players near regression on the roster, it was also important to find good homes for them. The first of these moves was our starting goalie, Strom Chamberlain. At the time, Chamberlain was the highest TPE goalie in the league and commanded a no trade clause with the team. "Tampa was the high buyer, but I was apprehensive at first to go to Tampa Bay. They weren't too far removed from the infamous 0-50 season, and I wasn't entirely sure of the direction the team was going." But despite the apprehension, Chevy agreed to waive the NTC to make the deal happen.

Trade Link

To Winnipeg

S61 2nd Tampa Bay (WPG - Luka Kovacsova)

S62 1st Tampa Bay (WPG - Christian Kinsinger)

S62 3rd Tampa Bay (WPG - Jacques Lilcoque)

Bob Duncan ©

Tobias Lindeman (G)

To Tampa Bay

Strom Chamberlain (G)

After the deal went down and players exchanged hands, Chevy's apprehension disappeared. "Turns out, that anxiety about going to Tampa was unfounded. I had a blast there. The whole team was fantastic. Having PremierBromanov as the interim GM there before Dwight Knight took over was an absolute blast, and I learned a bit more about people than I hadn't knew before. Made some pretty good acquaintances in there that I enjoy to this day." At the end of S60, Tampa Bay was a team on the rise. They emerged from the basement the season before and had an upward trajectory. Adding the star goalie was a key piece in their quest for the Cup. In return, Ace was able to secure a depth center in Bob Duncan, backup goalie Tobias Lindeman, and three picks. With Tampa Bay most likely looking at a top 10 position, the three picks would be around 10 (S62), 30 (S61), and 50 (S62). A good return for Chamberlain, depending on who falls to Winnipeg with those picks. Winnipeg ended up keeping the 2nd and 3rd round picks - selecting Luka Kovacsova and Jacques Lilcoque, respectively. Neither turned out in the SHL. The Tampa 1st round pick was soon flipped for another player but eventually return to become Christian Kinsinger, a top defenseman on the current team.

With Ace now taking the helm, he needed a Co-GM. The next trade the Aurora made was to fulfil this need. Looking back, Ace remarked: "I found out that the other applicant for the Winnipeg GM job that was being heavily considered was Bayley, and I had some experience with them in the past. I reached out their way and asked about their willingness to work together, as I enjoyed how they put the time and effort into building the Chicago Butchers in the ISFL at the time. I knew I needed help, and Bayley was good in areas I wasn’t, and it seemed like a great fit at the time." After deciding to bring in Bayley to help direct the team, it required a trade for Bayley's player currently in the SHL (About 1300 TPE, 4 seasons until regression). New England had a bit more leverage in the trade as there was only one potential trade partner. The Wolfpack was able to bring back a great haul for Teylora Petrov, Bayley's player.

Trade Link

To Winnipeg
Teylora Petrov (D)

To New England
Alexis Saint-Michel (RW)
S62 1st Tampa Bay (WPG - Christian Kinsinger)
S63 3rd Winnipeg (NEW - Pass)

In this trade, Winnipeg had to give up a very promising young forward in Saint-Michel and the S62 1st they got from Tampa Bay for Chamberlain. Up to this point, Saint-Michel was a max earning forward with a lot of junior league success - he had just finished 1st in the SMJHL in goals and 2nd in points the previous season. Throw in another 3rd from Winnipeg's own stores, and its a fantastic return for New England. Interestingly, that Tampa Bay 1st round pick would eventually find its way back to Winnipeg for a second time in the near future for Christian Kinsinger. The S63 3rd round pick sent to New England ended up being null as the Wolfpack passed during the draft on this pick. With Bayley now in the fold as Co-GM, management continued on the path of rebuilding the team from the ground up.

Basically at the same time Ace brought in Bayley, he shipped Jasper Maximov (enigmatic) out to Baltimore for a number of draft picks. At the time, Maximov was a younger, steadily earning defenseman with a lot of upside both on the player front and the user front (1300 TPE). With many more seasons of rebuild on the horizon, enigmatic felt it was time to win. "I wasn't super happy with the direction of the rebuild, so I asked to be traded. I chose Baltimore because I had spent time there with another player, and I still had friends on the team. I thought I'd have a chance at winning with them, so it seemed like a good fit." With a trade partner lined up, enigmatic was off to Baltimore, one of the best teams in the league.

Trade Link

To Winnipeg
S61 2nd Baltimore (WPG - Sean Stevenson III)
S63 2nd Baltimore (NEW - Alix Nunez)
*S64 2nd Manhattan
*S64 3rd Baltimore
Rene Pu (RW)

To Baltimore
Jasper Maximov (D)
*S64 2nd Winnipeg

*all conditional picks not traded due to non-fulfillment of conditions

With a number of conditional picks not trading hands in hindsight, Maximov to Baltimore only produced a depth RW in Rene Pu and two 2nd round picks. The added value of the conditional picks was not awarded to Winnipeg because they ended up higher in the standings than Manhattan in season 64. Of those two second round picks, one was traded away and the other was used to select Sean Stevenson III, a junior player who never went on to play in the SHL. Enigmatic liked how it worked out in Baltimore and Winnipeg didn't lose too much in assets, so all worked out in the end once again. Two seconds is a decent asset recoup for Winnipeg, it was just unfortunate that the team whiffed on the picks.

The next trade by Winnipeg was shipping out Nick Brain to Toronto in exchange for some more picks. Brain was, at the time, a nearly 2k TPE player heading into his 4th regression. While still a top player, his window did not align with the direction of the team. According to StadiumGambler, "It was an attempt to get some picks and value for a declining guy who wasn't going to be able to help Winnipeg much longer. Toronto was a fine place to go. It was disappointing that Brain ended up not getting a ring in the end, but not sure I really deserved one."

Trade Link

To Toronto

Nick Brain* (RW)

To Winnipeg

S62 2nd Toronto (SFP - Borje Samuelsson)

S62 3rd Toronto (WPG - Trevor Malone)

S64 2nd Toronto (MAN - Inda Bagg)

*Winnipeg retains 50% ($3m) of Brain's salary

For a top level winger, Winnipeg was able to bag three picks from Toronto, a repeat top 5 team at that point. With Toronto pushing for a cup and Winnipeg able to retain salary, some of Brain's contract stayed with Winnipeg, a trick Ace would end up using to his benefit in the future. As for the assets returning, both of the 2nds would end up being traded away and the third was used to select Trevor Malone, a depth junior player. Once again, just like the Maximov trade, the asking price for a mid-tier player (although, regressing this time) was around two 2nds and a kicker. Unlike the Maximov trade though, 50% retained salary was the extra price to pay for a winger on the regression slope. There was room in the budget for sure, but that just increases the amount of assets given to Toronto for the return.

The last trade to be made in the S61 offseason was shipping out our franchise player Pojo Biscuit for some more future assets. At the time, Pojo was still on the rise as a S54 player, but didn't fit the timeline for Aurora success. By shipping him off to Seattle with $1m in retained salary, Ace was able to secure some good assets both in capital and on-ice talent. .bojo recalls, "I was semi-active at best around that time, but I liked being a part of the rebrand. I'm surprised Winnipeg got such a decent pull for me, all things considered. I enjoyed being a part of both teams - I even still have the magnets I bought for both teams on my mini fridge."

Trade Link

To Winnipeg
S62 1st Buffalo (WPG - Rebecca Montagne)
S62 2nd Hamilton (TOR - Lonley Stagan)
Johnny Shuffleboard (D)

To Seattle:
Pojo Biscuit* (D)

*Winnipeg retains $1m of Biscuit's salary

Shuffleboard was a serviceable 1300 TPE defenseman who unfortunately went inactive about a week before this trade. It was this trade that manifested the first S62 1st round pick of many to come. Winnipeg would go on to acquire seven first round picks in that S62 draft. Looking into the future, Winnipeg ended up selecting goalie Rebecca Montagne with this Buffalo 1st, the current starter for the team and one of the best goalies in the league. The 2nd was traded away for more assets in the future. This trade may be classified as a win-win since Winnipeg got a great asset haul and Seattle was able to use Biscuit in a top pairing role for three seasons.

Winnipeg ended up making five offseason trades to ship out some of their more veteran players for future draft capital. All in all, the assets exchanged looked like this:

With the offseason wrapping up, Winnipeg was set to go into the season with its rebuilding roster. In season 60, before all these trades, Winnipeg ended the season sitting 19th of 20th (17-44-5) in the SHL standings. Going into S61 and a rebuild, it was expected that it would get a lot worse before it got better. For that season, the veteran leaders on the team were Sarah Burke (Kyamprac), Zakkira Diporov (Sparky), and Dwayne Gretzky (3lewsers). Despite some veterans sticking around, the rebuild was in full swing.

Leading up to the S62 Draft

As season 61 was unfolding, it became obvious that Winnipeg was a seller at the trade deadline. (One probably knew that even before the first puck was dropped!) The Aurora still had a number of veteran assets that would command a decent price on the open market. Before the trade deadline was even here, Ace pulled the trigger on a monster trade.

Trade Link

To New Orleans
Zakkira Diporov (D)
Slip McScruff (D)

To Winnipeg:
S62 1st New Orleans (WPG - Spack Jarrow)
S63 2nd Tampa Bay (WPG - Max Pane)
S64 1st New Orleans (NEW - Outdoor Truck)
Olivier Cloutier ©
Vili TugaTugaBoatu (D)
Erik Andrews (RW)
Lebron Brady (RW)

At this point, Diporov and McScruff are good defensemen - Diporov young and rising, and McScruff older but effective. McScruff was a part of the Winnipeg franchise since S45 - a whopping 15 seasons. There was as much interest of these two finding greener pastures as there was New Orleans really wanting these two users. With many of the players coming back to Winnipeg being mid-to-low tier, the value is made up in the draft picks coming back. With New Orleans still near the bottom of the standings, the immediate S62 New Orleans pick was bound to be top 3. Add in the chance for S64 to be higher as well (it was, #10), there was immense draft capital made by dealing these defensemen to New Orleans. In hindsight, none of the players that came to Winnipeg ended up making much of an impact, but the draft picks were immense. With the S62 New Orleans pick, Winnipeg selected Spack Jarrow (HighStickKing), a top forward on the team now.

Season 61 ended for Winnipeg with little fanfare, being 2nd last in the league standings. But during this time, it's the offseason that create the fireworks north of the border. In the days leading up to the S62 draft, Winnipeg would trade with New England to secure some more picks for the upcoming monster draft. This trade was exclusively draft picks.

Trade Link

To Winnipeg
S62 1st New England (WPG - Tommy Tightpants)
S62 1st Tampa Bay (WPG - Christian Kinsinger)

To New England
S63 2nd Baltimore (PASS)
S64 1st New Orleans (NEW - Outdoor Truck)
S65 2nd Winnipeg (NEW - Seamus O'Slapahan)
S66 1st Winnipeg (EDM - Julian Eaglesong)

In what seems like a rare occurrence, all five players selected with these picks ended up playing in the SHL. Usually, one or two players only make it to the junior league and never get called up. A lot of quality players found homes with their draft teams as a result of this trade, rendering it a success all around. Since all the players are so different in age, it is hard to assess which player ended up being the best - it very well could be any of them outside Tightpants.

Ace would make four more trades in the S62 offseason leading up to the big S62 draft.

Trade Link

To Winnipeg
Janne Virtanen (D)
S64 1st Minnesota (MTL - Mads McBride)
S62 2nd Buffalo (SFP - Ezra Wong)

To Minnesota
Adrik Baranov (D)

Baranov, a S55 player, was nearly at 1500 TPE at the time of this trade and earning well. A top pair defenseman, really. For such a piece, Winnipeg was able to recoup a 1st, 2nd, and depth player. The picks would later be flipped for other assets, and Virtanen was barely used on the roster but for one season. It's hard to judge the trade other than to say it seems it was fair value.

As inevitable as it may have seemed, it was a sad day when Winnipeg traded away their Captain, Sarah Burke. Kyamprac was a great leader for the team in the locker room, but with the rebuild coming into focus, it was just the best play for both parties to part ways. When asked, Kyamprac recalled, "I told Ace I was considering leaving in free agency and encouraged him to get some value for me in advance of the draft with the rebuild coming. I had been losing interest in SHL and thought a change of scenery might do me some good. I got bounced around between teams a bit before Winnipeg and figured testing free agency would give me some more choice in the matter. Ace was really nice about it and gave me some say in where I went, despite me not having a NTC. I ended up in Los Angeles, which became my favorite locker room to date. Absolutely love those guys and so happy I ended up there."

Trade Link

To Winnipeg
S62 1st Los Angeles (MAN - Paul Koivu)
S64 1st Los Angeles (NEW - Ashley Stubbs)

To Los Angeles
Sarah Burke (D)

Burke ended up switching to forward upon their arrival in Los Angeles and went on to have an amazing career there. Winnipeg was able to grab two 1sts for her, which again would later be flipped. In terms of straight up assets, it was a good haul for Burke.

The next trade was a definite win for Winnipeg. In stocking up firsts for the upcoming draft, they were able to upgrade their inactive player for the price of some retained salary.

Trade Link

To Winnipeg

Mika Kandinsky ©
S62 1st Toronto (WPG - Jaeger Jones)

To Toronto
Commander Shepard* (LW)
S64 3rd Winnipeg (MIN - Tim Bunnings)
S62 2nd Hamilton (TOR - Lonley Stagan)

*Winnipeg retains 50% ($3m) of Shepard's salary

This trade ruffled a few feathers due to the mechanics of inactivity. Apparently Mika Kandinsky was signed to an IA contract a few days before this trade was posted. It was in Toronto's right to just drop Kaminsky, but instead gave them to Winnipeg as a sweetener in the deal. This increased the value coming back to Winnipeg, basically ensuring a win for one side. Commander Shepard was also inactive at the time, so Winnipeg was able to sweep up the best pick exchanged and the best player. Toronto was able to get one season out of Shepard and Winnipeg was able to get two seasons out of Kandinsky before trading them to New England. While Winnipeg did also end up selecting the best player with the exchanged draft picks, it wasn't a homerun as Jones would go inactive a few seasons later after plateauing in the 1200s TPE.

To recap these trades, I want you to focus on the 1st round picks. Eight 1sts coming to Winnipeg for some veteran players (plus some). Those players were top veterans and users who were coveted by multiple teams, but it still shouldn't take away from the fact Ace was able to get a number of 1sts out of the deals. Let's recap all the assets that Ace was able to move and secure as GM of the Aurora up to this point (Added to the first recap):