A Reflection of the Past and Future…
It’s near playoff time in the DWSHL, and the playoff race is getting more intense everyday. In the Jim Beam conference, three teams find themselves out of the playoff picture with more to follow. The young but struggling Brahmas, Crunch and Fury, are looking forward into next year. The Rams have chance but aren’t likely to make it. The real battle for the final spots is between the Attack, the Storm, the defending champion Phantoms, the Wolves, the Icedogs, and the T-Rex. The Attack has the biggest uphill battle but it can be reached, if they can get it going. The Pacific division doesn’t really get well represented. They got the on again off again Spartans, the Reno Hum and the Wolves in the playoffs right now, but it needs to improve. They need to be more represented. That is going to be the biggest challenge for the teams to do next year. We want to out-do the Big Canada next year. The future does look bright with teams like the Fury, and the Brahmas. Both GM’s have done a fantastic job of re-building their teams and they should feel the effects of their great artistry in the near future. The league is running smoothly again, thanks to the great tiring work of our commissioner Tyler. Without him, this league wouldn’t be what it is now. He has many new great ideas and contest for the GM’s that make it more exciting. Things like the Penguin Invite, allows the GM’s to have a little more rivalry between them as they fight for the limited 8 spots and the right to host it. Not only does it make for exciting hockey it is enjoyable for the fans to watch, and with the expected announcement of great entertainment they be sure to come out to the rink. This off-season we have the World Tourney qualifier. Not all GM’s get to compete in this but I am one GM who has something to prove to this league. That I can actually build a good team out of nothing. I have been criticized before for just coming in with a good team and nothing better would change the minds of GM’s if I can create a winner out of the National Hockey team of Austria. They have many challenges ahead of them though, but I’m confident that we can jump the hurdle and really compete in the World Tourney in 2004. Hockey is expanding in these cities. I know of a couple that are looking to expand their arenas due to good capacity levels. The Spartans being one of those cities, they filled out their application and now can only wait for the word. Hockey is in demand in many of these cities, and we need to expand so that the clubs can be more competitive in the markets. Also, sadly it is believed that some clubs are looking to move due to their bad attendance. This is not good for the cities that will lose the team but will be great for the new city and the teams added revenue from better attendance will help in the search for the right mix of players to put winning team on the ice. That’s all for now from this GM, and I look forward to something being put underneath the Pacific Division area. This article was kind of a bore as it is just a summary of the great league, but I will look into making a more improved and a exciting article like the ones IceBats GM Brett Ommen keeps producing. Keep up the good work. In the coming weeks look for the Seattle Spartans to announce their website. I’ve never built one before so it is low key until I learn more about it.
Spartans GM
Matt Visser
