06-05-2019, 09:20 AM(This post was last modified: 06-07-2019, 06:41 AM by Buster.)
We’re joined now by Oliver Cleary of the Detroit Falcons. Cleary is a 6’3”, 215 pound defencemen out of Toronto, Canada. This season with the Falcons, Cleary managed to post one goal and five assists for six points in 50 games. Though the numbers didn’t come, his defensive game caught the eyes of scouts and many have him pegged to be anywhere between the top five to ten picks in the upcoming draft. He also comes into the draft as the TPE leader and only player to crack 300 pre-draft. Now, we’ll turn to Oliver. Please ask any questions you may have.
06-05-2019, 09:27 AMWannabeFinn Wrote: Which teams are you eyeing at the draft
I think pre-draft my outlook was very different than what it became post draft. I think pre-draft and even at the start of the season there was only a few teams in which I really wanted to play for, a lot of which was due to ignorance by someone coming back from a long period of inactivity. The first team was obviously the Manhattan Rage. A big reason why and honestly something common between the two teams I'm about to list is the GM running the team. Jaywhy and I have a friendship that is well known and the moment I found out that he was running the team I wanted to become a Rage. This obviously became a little unrealistic when the team made some moves to unload their picks this season. At that point the Rage became a team I knew was unrealistic. The other was Buffalo and once again this was motivated by GM WannabeFinn. They were going to end up having a pick that I was unlikely to fall to so once again I started to focus less.
Once the draft list came out and everything was set and stone, it became more obvious where I wanted to go to in the end. Obviously Tampa Bay and Hamilton were interests because of where they picked but I didn't have a ton of focus on either because it obviously neither were going to take me. But the team I really eyed was Los Angeles. A team with a long history, a GM that I gelled with and a team I could grow with. It was the perfect fit when we started talking. Obviously, I'm happy things worked out.
06-05-2019, 09:30 AMKatth Wrote: What team do you don't want to draft you?
I don't think there was really a team I didn't want to draft me. Coming back from inactivity, I really don't have a grasp on which teams I like and which I don't like. The only team that really was a negative to me was Hamilton and this was completely because we spoke and it wasn't going to be a fit. Hamilton had concerns about spotty activity in the past and it wasn't going to be a fit. So I guess that is the closest I can give you.
06-05-2019, 09:58 AMPenKnight Wrote: Do you feel, that if you signed with Montreal, that you and the team would be celebrating, with the Four Star Cup today??
This is a tough question to answer and overall, I couldn't really give you a solid answer either way. My season overall was sort of a bust and its impossible to tell that if everything went the same expect I was on Montreal if that would harm or hurt. As the season went on and my player started to pull away in TPE, I guess it would've helped but again its hard to really say. My playoff in Detroit was much better than my regular season so I figure that would've helped a ton. Lets say for fun that we would've not only won the Four Star Cup but we would've swept without losing a game. If you need a scapegoat, blame me! I hope you end up loving New Orleans.
06-05-2019, 10:48 AMWhikadoodle Wrote: Do you actually care about putting points on the board?
I mean eventually I do. This season it was a mix of playing third line minutes and having a more defensive build which led to less offence. My overall plan was start focusing more on offence as my build developed in order to have a big time send down season or seasons as my player was more relied upon to produce while playing the more important minutes. Obviously that plan didn't work out exactly how I planned. Due to team needs, I'll be back on the 3rd pairing in the SHL so its going to likely be exactly what season was. That's fine because obviously I'm proud to be a true rookie. But when you ask about if I care about putting up points, it ends up not being the focus until I'm more acclimated. So in short, I eventually want to produce and care about producing points.
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: What's the career goal for you as a player?
In the short term my goal is to just fit in and have a good rookie season. I'm not sure what I should be expecting going in so its really hard for me to gauge what my goals and expectations should be at this point. Like I would love to have a huge rookie season and contend for the rookie of the year but due to my position and relative TPE gap between myself and other rookies who were drafted a few seasons ago it is unlikely I'll be able to do that. So in the end, I just want to hold my own and prove I should be in the SHL.
In the long term my goals are pretty standard. I want to be a top player at both my position and overall while also winning titles. Being able to grow with LA is great for me because in theory I should be hitting my stride right around the same time the team does. Wastlund has told me that he's going to give me every change to be a top flight defensemen on the time so it's a mutually beneficial relationship for both player and team. Obviously, championships are another huge goal for me. My agent hasn't won a title since season 22 so getting a crack at the big one is a big dream. I feel like it is pretty cliche but I mean, these are the things you dream about right?
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: Do you see yourself as being a loyalist and sticking it out with a single team your whole life or will the elusiveness of free agency make you test the waters?
I mean that is a question that will be easier to answer in three seasons when my contract is up. In the past I've been a player that teams have passed around a ton through trades partly due to higher trade value and also I've asked to leave a couple times. With that said, I'm hoping to be a loyalist this time and stick with the team that showed so much faith in me. My biggest complaint in the SMJHL draft is after I feel so far I felt a bit slighted and like the team who got me didn't really want me in the end. LA is the complete opposite and so far I'm loving that. Things may change in three seasons but as of right now I see no reason to leave.
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: As a new member of the Los Angeles Panthers, what is the current atmosphere in the LR?
The locker room is great. The team was super welcoming last night after I was drafted and I'm really enjoying it so far. It seems like a very chilled out, fun group who keeps things light and not very serious. This is something I really value in a locker room because if I can't have fun spending my time with a group, it will seriously impact my activity. All the guys are motivated to turn things around and I'm glad to be apart of it.
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: The Panthers recently traded away their vets, to help speed up a rebuilding process, what is your opinion on this move? Do you think it's the right thing to do? If you don't what would you have done differently?
I think in the end I don't really have an opinion on it. Obviously when we think of rebuilds, we think of a time taking many seasons to build up a group of younger players and allow them to grow. If a team gets a chance to speed the process up and it looks like it won't hurt, you've got to take that chance to do that almost every time. The issue becomes it may take many seasons to realize that may have been a mistake but things will have likely been smoothed over and fixed by then. So right now I like the move and there's not much I would do differently. Maybe that'll change in the future but I'd rather not think about that.
06-06-2019, 08:26 PMWasty Wrote: “Was it a good idea drafting you?” (Hint it was a GREAT idea)
My general manager has pre-wrote my answers to each question and has told me to say that drafting Oliver Cleary was a GREAT idea. In the end though I think we'll look back on this selection as a good select. The pedigree is clearly not in question, the ability to develop a player but rather the sustained activity was always the issue. This is a team I personally feel as though I can stay activity with and I have the motivation of being miffed by so many teams which is a deadly combination. I think we have no worries.
06-06-2019, 08:26 PMWasty Wrote: “What’s the first song Oliver wants the Staples Center to blast when he scores his first home game goal?”
As tempted as I am to say "Song 2" by Blur just to be extremely cliche, I would rather be obnoxious and give a huge screw you to teams that didn't want me so I would have to go "Big Rings" by Drake and Future. I dare you to give me a more obnoxious song for what will likely be my only goal of the season.
06-05-2019, 09:27 AMWannabeFinn Wrote: Which teams are you eyeing at the draft
I think pre-draft my outlook was very different than what it became post draft. I think pre-draft and even at the start of the season there was only a few teams in which I really wanted to play for, a lot of which was due to ignorance by someone coming back from a long period of inactivity. The first team was obviously the Manhattan Rage. A big reason why and honestly something common between the two teams I'm about to list is the GM running the team. Jaywhy and I have a friendship that is well known and the moment I found out that he was running the team I wanted to become a Rage. This obviously became a little unrealistic when the team made some moves to unload their picks this season. At that point the Rage became a team I knew was unrealistic. The other was Buffalo and once again this was motivated by GM WannabeFinn. They were going to end up having a pick that I was unlikely to fall to so once again I started to focus less.
Once the draft list came out and everything was set and stone, it became more obvious where I wanted to go to in the end. Obviously Tampa Bay and Hamilton were interests because of where they picked but I didn't have a ton of focus on either because it obviously neither were going to take me. But the team I really eyed was Los Angeles. A team with a long history, a GM that I gelled with and a team I could grow with. It was the perfect fit when we started talking. Obviously, I'm happy things worked out.
06-05-2019, 09:30 AMKatth Wrote: What team do you don't want to draft you?
I don't think there was really a team I didn't want to draft me. Coming back from inactivity, I really don't have a grasp on which teams I like and which I don't like. The only team that really was a negative to me was Hamilton and this was completely because we spoke and it wasn't going to be a fit. Hamilton had concerns about spotty activity in the past and it wasn't going to be a fit. So I guess that is the closest I can give you.
06-06-2019, 06:32 PM(This post was last modified: 06-06-2019, 06:32 PM by Buster.)
06-05-2019, 09:58 AMPenKnight Wrote: Do you feel, that if you signed with Montreal, that you and the team would be celebrating, with the Four Star Cup today??
This is a tough question to answer and overall, I couldn't really give you a solid answer either way. My season overall was sort of a bust and its impossible to tell that if everything went the same expect I was on Montreal if that would harm or hurt. As the season went on and my player started to pull away in TPE, I guess it would've helped but again its hard to really say. My playoff in Detroit was much better than my regular season so I figure that would've helped a ton. Lets say for fun that we would've not only won the Four Star Cup but we would've swept without losing a game. If you need a scapegoat, blame me! I hope you end up loving New Orleans.
06-05-2019, 10:48 AMWhikadoodle Wrote: Do you actually care about putting points on the board?
I mean eventually I do. This season it was a mix of playing third line minutes and having a more defensive build which led to less offence. My overall plan was start focusing more on offence as my build developed in order to have a big time send down season or seasons as my player was more relied upon to produce while playing the more important minutes. Obviously that plan didn't work out exactly how I planned. Due to team needs, I'll be back on the 3rd pairing in the SHL so its going to likely be exactly what season was. That's fine because obviously I'm proud to be a true rookie. But when you ask about if I care about putting up points, it ends up not being the focus until I'm more acclimated. So in short, I eventually want to produce and care about producing points.
Do you see yourself as being a loyalist and sticking it out with a single team your whole life or will the elusiveness of free agency make you test the waters?
As a new member of the Los Angeles Panthers, what is the current atmosphere in the LR?
The Panthers recently traded away their vets, to help speed up a rebuilding process, what is your opinion on this move? Do you think it's the right thing to do? If you don't what would you have done differently?
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: What's the career goal for you as a player?
In the short term my goal is to just fit in and have a good rookie season. I'm not sure what I should be expecting going in so its really hard for me to gauge what my goals and expectations should be at this point. Like I would love to have a huge rookie season and contend for the rookie of the year but due to my position and relative TPE gap between myself and other rookies who were drafted a few seasons ago it is unlikely I'll be able to do that. So in the end, I just want to hold my own and prove I should be in the SHL.
In the long term my goals are pretty standard. I want to be a top player at both my position and overall while also winning titles. Being able to grow with LA is great for me because in theory I should be hitting my stride right around the same time the team does. Wastlund has told me that he's going to give me every change to be a top flight defensemen on the time so it's a mutually beneficial relationship for both player and team. Obviously, championships are another huge goal for me. My agent hasn't won a title since season 22 so getting a crack at the big one is a big dream. I feel like it is pretty cliche but I mean, these are the things you dream about right?
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: Do you see yourself as being a loyalist and sticking it out with a single team your whole life or will the elusiveness of free agency make you test the waters?
I mean that is a question that will be easier to answer in three seasons when my contract is up. In the past I've been a player that teams have passed around a ton through trades partly due to higher trade value and also I've asked to leave a couple times. With that said, I'm hoping to be a loyalist this time and stick with the team that showed so much faith in me. My biggest complaint in the SMJHL draft is after I feel so far I felt a bit slighted and like the team who got me didn't really want me in the end. LA is the complete opposite and so far I'm loving that. Things may change in three seasons but as of right now I see no reason to leave.
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: As a new member of the Los Angeles Panthers, what is the current atmosphere in the LR?
The locker room is great. The team was super welcoming last night after I was drafted and I'm really enjoying it so far. It seems like a very chilled out, fun group who keeps things light and not very serious. This is something I really value in a locker room because if I can't have fun spending my time with a group, it will seriously impact my activity. All the guys are motivated to turn things around and I'm glad to be apart of it.
06-06-2019, 06:57 PMDanbyRem Wrote: The Panthers recently traded away their vets, to help speed up a rebuilding process, what is your opinion on this move? Do you think it's the right thing to do? If you don't what would you have done differently?
I think in the end I don't really have an opinion on it. Obviously when we think of rebuilds, we think of a time taking many seasons to build up a group of younger players and allow them to grow. If a team gets a chance to speed the process up and it looks like it won't hurt, you've got to take that chance to do that almost every time. The issue becomes it may take many seasons to realize that may have been a mistake but things will have likely been smoothed over and fixed by then. So right now I like the move and there's not much I would do differently. Maybe that'll change in the future but I'd rather not think about that.
06-06-2019, 08:26 PMWasty Wrote: “Was it a good idea drafting you?” (Hint it was a GREAT idea)
My general manager has pre-wrote my answers to each question and has told me to say that drafting Oliver Cleary was a GREAT idea. In the end though I think we'll look back on this selection as a good select. The pedigree is clearly not in question, the ability to develop a player but rather the sustained activity was always the issue. This is a team I personally feel as though I can stay activity with and I have the motivation of being miffed by so many teams which is a deadly combination. I think we have no worries.
06-06-2019, 08:26 PMWasty Wrote: “What’s the first song Oliver wants the Staples Center to blast when he scores his first home game goal?”
As tempted as I am to say "Song 2" by Blur just to be extremely cliche, I would rather be obnoxious and give a huge screw you to teams that didn't want me so I would have to go "Big Rings" by Drake and Future. I dare you to give me a more obnoxious song for what will likely be my only goal of the season.
Buster![[Image: theziegs.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/theziegs.gif)
![[Image: buster.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/buster.gif)
WannabeFinn![[Image: HjEFCSR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HjEFCSR.png)
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/ MINNESOTA MONARCHS 
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Which teams are you eyeing at the draft![[Image: interview.gif]](http://simulationhockey.com/images/smilies/interview.gif)
Do you feel, that if you signed with Montreal, that you and the team would be celebrating, with the Four Star Cup today??
![[Image: sIjpJeQ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/sIjpJeQ.png)
![[Image: Katth.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/Katth.gif)
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