Interview with Commissioner, John George
Ladies and Gentlemen, today on the website, we will be interviewing the FHL Commissioner, John George. We are going to talk about his role as the leagues Commissioner, Captain of the Crosby's, and a player in this league.
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Thanks Andrew, great job your doing here with all the technical work.
Thanks, John. Well, first things first. You are the Commissioner of this league. What are your thoughts on the FHL's first two seasons and how they panned out?
Well Andrew I couldn't be any happier. This league has gone from just a few guys playing some pick up hockey, to a full fledged official production. As the seasons pass the league will continue to evolve, but at the moment I'm very pleased with where we've been and definitely where we're going.
Yeah, the FHL really seems to be on the rise. This past season, a new champion was crowned. The Jets won the FHL Championship for the first time. How did you feel the Jets compared to the rest of the league and were they worthy of the crown?
Well first off I would like to congratulate them on a fantastic season, they backed up an incredible regular season with a very impressive playoff run. The Jets definitely had more firepower offensively than any other squad in the league with all-stars Brian Barca and Mark Fetsko, yes there is some controversy about the terms under which Fetsko was acquired, but it was within the rules at the time and there is no point complaining about it. The Jets were definitely deserving of the cup but teams like the Hawks, and Crosby's also wouldn't have surprised me if they hoisted the trophy either.
Speaking of the Hawks, they had one of the most, if not the most dominant player in the world, Chad Kanz. Chad Kanz ripped through the FHL with a record setting 60 goals and 84 points. What value does Kanz bring to an organization like the FHL?
We could talk for hours about this guy. He set the bar of perfection during the regular season on the stats sheet and is one guy who definitely has a few championships with his name written on it in the future. He also did all of this while remaining humble and showing class all the way until his season ended. Not everyone knows this but he basically played the championship with one arm and deserves every acknowledgment he receives this off season.
No doubt, Chad Kanz is the best in the league right now. As you mentioned acknowledgments during the off season, there was a battle for Rookie of the Year this whole season. Hawks' Matt Gori and Bishop Boyle's Andrew McDonald brought ratings to the league as both finished in top 10 in goals, assists, and points. Most likely one of these two will be named Rookie of the Year, John. What does this say about the youth and the future of the FHL Organization?
Well it's definitely bright, when guys can come in at such a young age and contribute like them it makes me feel like this league will be thriving locally for years to come, not only are young guys like Amac and Matty coming in and scoring, but players like Mike Perlacky, Jamie Zelena, and Brian Hreha offer a defensive wave of young talent which makes the league much deeper. The ROY battle was great to watch and great for the fans, both guys are very deserving.
Alright, lets move on. Now John, not only are you the Commissioner of the league, but you are also a captain for the Crosby's. The Crosby's failed to repeat as champions this year after a thrilling ride to the title during the FHL's first season. Did your team fail to meet your expectations as captain with the team you had?
Well Andrew we always expect to win a title, thats why you play the game, and I felt as GM I put together a squad worthy of winning it. Sometimes things don't go your way over the course of a playoff and that was the case for us, I'm not gonna sit here and run off excuses of why we didn't win, I have all the respect for what the Jets did and I won't take away from that. I feel we can take what we learned from our loss this year and build off it going into next year, I think the league will definitely see a hungrier Crosby team next year, with Bill Seaman getting older and players moving from team to team so much, we want to win one with this group of guy as soon as we can.
FHL Insiders have reported you are franchising Bill Seaman, one of the best defensemen in the league. Is this true?
Yes it is Andrew, me and Bill have talked several times since the loss to the Jets and we discussed our future together in the league. I can't go into too much detail right now about what he had to say but he is definitely taking time to evaluate his health going into next season, if he feels he wont be able to help us or be as committed I will obviously change my franchise tag, but right now theres no other player in the league I would rather have next to me on the bench than Bill Seaman, he has taught me all I know about playing defense and I'm still learning from him every day.
Besides Seaman, do you have intentions of bringing back any other members of this years Crosby's team come draft time?
If I could I bring back the exact same team, that's how confident I am in that group of guy. However in this business it doesn't work that way and it wouldn't hurt us to bring in some new blood. Hopefully I can keep the same strong core of guys and build around them with some young talent and maybe another veteran presence to compliment Bill.
Sounds very confident. But lets say some of your former teammates are drafted to other teams. What players around the league are you looking into drafting?
The league is definitely littered with talent, so I'm not worried about missing out on skill. Theres plenty of guys who can score and make plays. When drafting a guy you have to look at how they fit into your team, chemistry and attitude go a long way with me and Bill when it comes to building a squad. I would sacrifice a little bit of skill in a guy for some one who comes out weekly ready to play and play the game physical and classy, the Crosby way. I can't go into dropping names right now, but we will definitely be doing our homework when it gets closer to the draft.
Well, John. Thank you for your time in talking about your team and the FHL Organization. Good luck to the Crosby's in the off season and next season.
Thank you Andrew, love what your doing with the website, good luck to you as well in the upcoming season
