(914 words)

With my third player approaching the SHL draft, it is bringing up some excitement I haven't really felt in over five years. My first player, Tig Murphy, was drafted 4th overall by the Hamilton Steelhawks in S43, which would have taken place in the back half of 2018. However, my second player was auto-drafted by the Seattle Argonauts as I was the GM at the time, so it has been a very long time since I've gone into an SHL draft without knowing where I was headed. As such, I've thrown together a few thoughts on each of the teams around the league. These are not necessarily a do/don't draft me and are in alphabetical order, as I'd hope to have a chance to have a more in depth conversation with any interested parties anyway. Still some time for that if you haven't reached out

1. Atlanta Inferno - hotdog is my expansion brother from when I brought Seattle into the league and we've had a good relationship going back a good while. I like a lot of the people that are part of their social cluster.

2. Baltimore Platoon - my most recent SHL team and the resting place of Kermit Murphy. Trips and I go way back and I had a good time there.

3. Buffalo Stampede - I've been tight with a lot of legacy Stampede personalities for so long that in some ways it feels weird I haven't ended up there at some point. Definitely a landing place I'd be interested in.

4. Calgary Dragons - I've spent a long time harbouring a deep dislike of the Dragons and even though I know that there's been a lot of change internally there over the last little while, it may be a lot to shake.

5. Chicago Syndicate - kind of a weird middle ground in that I know of a lot of the users but don't know them all that well socially. Not that that's a bad thing necessarily, just a consideration.

6. Edmonton Blizzard - I've had lots of good discussions with HFFO over the years but similar to Chicago, a lot of people I don't know super well by any means.

7. Hamilton Steelhawks - the Steelhawks server has been a huge part of my life socially for over 5 years and I consider many of them actual irl friends. The fit socially is proven, whether or not my player fits their plans I don't really know. Would certainly be happy if I ended up in Hammy again.

8. Los Angeles Panthers - Fuzz and I have competed against each others for GMs for a very long time so I feel like we have a pretty good working relationship. I know some of the longtime LAP personalities pretty well.

9. Manhattan Rage - Outside of a few people, not a ton I'm really familiar with. I know they've been having a rough go since back to back Cinderella runs to the finals.

10. Minnesota Monarchs - They have some of my favourite people in the organization but the track record concerns me. I'm open to having some conversations about a fit.

11. Montreal Patriotes - Not really a ton of people there that I know super well or have a good bead on for how their locker room would be.

12. New England Wolfpack - Luke and I go way back and I know he runs a tight ship. They've had success and look poised to continue to do so, which is enticing.

13. New Orleans Specters - I've spent years outright disliking NOLA and some of the folks they've brought in have not helped my perception. Probably one of my few hard DNDs.

14. Philadelphia Forge - A few people I'm pretty friendly with and a GM I go way back with. Definitely an interesting landing spot if they see a fit there.

15. San Francisco Pride - A few people I know a little bit but largely a group I don't have a good bead on from the outside.

16. Seattle Argonauts - I'll lead with this - this team was my baby and I have a deep connection here, but I am not forcing my way back there. However, I also know that it can be tough to move on in a new area by retreading old ground and recycling personalities, and I can't imagine it would be easy to GM with the old guy just hovering around. Would of course be happy to return, but I'm also excited at exploring new landing spots if it works out that way.

17. Tampa Bay Barracuda - A few folks I'm pretty chummy with here. Definitely a team I'd hear out in scouting talks.

18. Texas Renegades - I know Coop from Detroit and some talks as a GM and player, so I know what I'd be getting into and it's something I'd have some interest in.

19. Toronto North Stars - one of the few teams that's actually sent me a scouting message. I'm a bit lukewarm here but open to having my mind changed.

20. Winnipeg Aurora - great team for a long time but old rivalries die hard and I don't think I can let go of the ick.

Definitely open to discussing my player with anyone pre-draft so if you feel like I haven't got the right outlook on your squad, hit me up and we can try to change that. Happy drafting!