I have wanted to make some sort of media for a while and this idea came to my mind but, it is not my original idea. 4thlineWorthy did this back when he was in the AHL and I found them interesting so I wanted to do a version of it myself. Here it is then, a questionnaire I sent out to 4 players involved in the league consisting of 5 questions about the AHL and its current status. I hope everyone enjoys it and if it goes well I can try and do them once a while with different people answering different questions. All people answering are anonymous as I feel it allows them to be more honest and leaves some mystery to it. They are not meant to be kept a secret but, I won't disclose who they are in the threads ————————————————————————————————————————--- 1. Who this far into the season has been the biggest surprise to you and really making a statement thus far? And who has been the biggest disappointment and not living up to expectations? I'd say Milwaukee for the biggest surprise. I expected them to be good but they are playing better than good and running away with the standings. Solid job by JC putting it all together. The biggest disappointment goes to Utica. They gotta get it together. 2. Right now we have a few teams starting to pull away from the pack. With this in mind who would be your current cup favorite? Also, do you see a dark horse in the race that you see flying under the radar right now and has a chance at making a run for the cup? Milwaukee is beating everyone, but I'd have to go Americans as cup favorite. Back to back championships don’t happen on accident, so until someone beats them they are my favorites. Utica gets biggest dark horse. Their lineup can be dangerous when they are clicking. If they can figure it out by playoff time they could make a run 3. Big contracts are always the eye of bidding and right now a few are in the top 25 in points showing that they could be worth the money. What are your thoughts on going for these big-cap players in bidding when it is costing 20-25% of your teams overall cap? You always have to spend big on at least one guy that fits in your plan for the team. Whether its for their talent or for their team play. It's always a gamble on whether it will pan out so choosing who it will be is important. The teams toward the top are usually the ones that won on the gambles and vice-versa for the ones that didn't. 4. Some teams have had a rough start to the season. Do you see anyone destined to turn it around before the deadline or at the trade deadline and make a name and salvage this season? No one destined to turn it around, but if anyone does I'd say it will be the San Jose. They are a fringe team now but their lineup could be very good with a few added pieces. 5. Trades always seem to be a big part of the season and show how good some managers are at managing. Do any trades stand out to you this season as either as the league calls “trapes” or big changes for the teams involved and generally helped everyone involved? Americans getting traped by the BOGs on that trade reversal stands out. Bridgeport making the pre-season trade of Im Gods Jesus for Uitca's FerranteCesare2. GodsJesus got called up and was at the center of the Utica team controversy, while FerranteCesare is a 9-1 stud dman that plays with the Tertle/Kiroxy/Manning line. It was an even trade at the time but it appears Bridgeport won the trade and set the tone for the season with that deal ————————————————————————————————————— 1. Who this far into the season has been the biggest surprise to you and really making a statement thus far? And who has been the biggest disappointment and not living up to expectations? - Easy answer would probably be the Admirals, but then again JC always just sneaks his way to manage the AHL team associated with the NHL team with the most DP so it's really no surprise to me. I'll go with a bit of an outside the box one. I did not expect Binghampton to do so well. They lost their manager. Turned out to be the greatest gift they had all season. Sitting at second in the division only one point behind the defending champs, props to them! 2. Right now we have a few teams starting to pull away from the pack. With this in mind who would be your current cup favorite? Also, do you see a dark horse in the race that you see flying under the radar right now and has a chance at making a run for the cup? - I think Colorado has to be the Cup favorite although Dunks had a history of falling short. Defending champs look solid upfront. As far as dark horses go, San Antonio isn't in a playoffs spot right now, but once that crew gets going it can do some damage. Binghampton if we can still call them a dark horse at this point too I guess. 3. Big contracts are always the eye of bidding and right now a few are in the top 25 in points showing that they could be worth the money. What are your thoughts on going for these big-cap players in bidding when it is costing 20-25% of your teams overall cap? - I personally run a team with one of those big contract guys and haven't had an issue with it. Long as you are comfortable with your low contract guys doing the job. Harder to go into bidding with no cheap returners and going after those big contract guys though. No one is worth more than 8M tho. So whoever put more than that on a player, bless your soul. 4. Some teams have had a rough start to the season. Do you see anyone destined to turn it around before the deadline or at the trade deadline and make a name and salvage this season? - San Antonio and Utica. I'm a fan of Iowa so far though so might be rough for San Antonio in the hardest division in the league, but with Skyre and Broche centering 2 of your lines, how can you not expect them to go at least 6-3-0 every week as a team once they click? 5. Trades always seem to be a big part of the season and show how good some managers are at managing. Do any trades stand out to you this season as either as the league calls “trapes” or big changes for the teams involved and generally helped everyone involved? - Charlotte’s trade with Rochester involving Beastly x 22 for Breckeeezy and BigPaulerBrand is looking more and more like a TRAPE to me. Also this week Binghampton ————————————————————————————————————— 1. Who this far into the season has been the biggest surprise to you and really making a statement thus far? And who has been the biggest disappointment and not living up to expectations? The Admirals have really surprised me because I've played them twice and I dont think they were "that good" but they've clearly proven me wrong so I guess we will see if they can keep it up. As for the most disappointing start so far I have to go with San Antonio they're a much better team than what they've shown us so far so I expect them to start making a push asap 2. Right now we have a few teams starting to pull away from the pack. With this in mind who would be your current cup favorite? Also, do you see a dark horse in the race that you see flying under the radar right now and has a chance at making a run for the cup? Honestly, have the give this to the humericans or the eagles they're the 2 best teams, in my opinion, they both have incredible offense and good defense so I guess we will have to wait and see. As for the dark horse, I think it's safe to say the top 5 teams in the western central can all cause a surprise come playoff time. 3. Big contracts are always the eye of bidding and right now a few are in the top 25 in points showing that they could be worth the money. What are your thoughts on going for these big-cap players in bidding when it is costing 20-25% of your teams overall cap? I think going for a guy with a huge cap is fine if you have good pieces already won or already on your roster but if you bid half your cap on a player and then your team fucking sucks then you clearly have the IQ of a goldfish. 4. Some teams have had a rough start to the season. Do you see anyone destined to turn it around before the deadline or at the trade deadline and make a name and salvage this season? I think San Antonio Utica Wbs and hershey will all make playoffs I don’t see any other teams getting better than what they are right now. 5. Trades always seem to be a big part of the season and show how good some managers are at managing. Do any trades stand out to you this season as either as the league calls “trapes” or big changes for the teams involved and generally helped everyone involved? No not really because 75% of the managers have a broomstick so far up their ass and no one wants to trade because no one feels the need to get butt fucked yet because they already have a broomstick f***ing em. ————————————————————————————————————— 1. Who this far into the season has been the biggest surprise to you and really making a statement thus far? And who has been the biggest disappointment and not living up to expectations? Biggest surprise would have to be Milwaukee, I knew Jiren was going to put together a solid squad but I did not expect them to be so dominant. Biggest disappointment in my opinion has to be Utica. I am not really surprised of who's at the bottom of the league right now but I did expect Utica to do very well this season. I understand that they got hit with call-ups but Verathy, iGabout and Studz are good players and I expected more from them. 2. Right now we have a few teams starting to pull away from the pack. With this in mind who would be your current cup favorite? Also, do you see a dark horse in the race that you see flying under the radar right now and has a chance at making a run for the cup? Cup favorites as of now would probably be Colorado. They have three solid lines and two solid tendies that are splitting games right now so it will be hard to beat them in a Bo7. As for dark horses, now that Im Gods Jesus got send back to Utica, if there core can get back to form I can see them becoming a very difficult team to handle in a Bo7. 3. Big contracts are always the eye of bidding and right now a few are in the top 25 in points showing that they could be worth the money. What are your thoughts on going for these big-cap players in bidding when it is costing 20-25% of your team's overall cap? I think big-cap players are only worth it if you have a lot of cheap DP's / resigns. Otherwise I think that if you are building a team that you want to win the cup it is much better to take that money and split it between 2 or 3 good players instead of 1 guy. Tons of talent in the league that can hang on first lines under 5 mil. 4. Some teams have had a rough start to the season. Do you see anyone destined to turn it around before the deadline or at the trade deadline and make a name and salvage this season? The only team I can see maybe having a chance at salvaging there season is Rockford. They have a few good players still and they are in arguably the worst division (besides the top 3) so I think they can sneak there way into the 4th seed with a few good trades. 5. Trades always seem to be a big part of the season and show how good some managers are at managing. Do any trades stand out to you this season as either as the league calls “trapes” or big changes for the teams involved and generally helped everyone involved? Not really a trade, but Providence waived Lebel at the start of the season and Bridgeport claimed him. 500k contract waived and is currently 8-4 with 30 pts (22 goals 8 assists). As for an actual trape, I think it has to be Beastly x 22 for Breckeeezy and BigPaulerBrand. Sure Rochester got Saucerman in a trade which included breckeeezy although they also had to give up Larsbone for this to work, and BigPaulerBrand is sitting in the CHL I believe. While Beastly has excelled on his new team, currently sitting at 4-1 with 24 pts since being sent to Charlotte. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
keep it coming. this was a good read. although the answers were mostly similar. You should mix up some new questions for each person, or at least one per person. great job though fella
Utica has the talent to bounce back, that's for sure. But the team really needs to be united, starting with building positive relationships and fostering teamwork. Once it's done, they can be dangerous come playoffs time.
Solid writeup Neiler, would have loved some bp love from one of those random interviewee's but hey, content is all that matters, keep em coming buddy
