Written by KippeR and edited by Kookaranian

A year in review. This league started out with about 13 GMs and a very long inaugural draft. The league was founded by Josh R, now a very controversial figure, in the early summer of 2004. A few GMs I remember from the start that are still here are AsmodeanReborn, GrizzlyGoalie, KiPPeR, Jay, jwolbach, Max Power, and Kookaranian. This infant league would be hit by a bombshell that sent waves of devastation throughout the league.

All the elder GMs remember Josh R, the notorious, infamous, former commissioner of the CMHL. Josh R abruptly left the league without notification or a system to continue the league. The league literally halted for several weeks with no good in sight. However, from the dedication from M3(gx470 at the time), Habsfan93, and GrizzlyGoalie, the league moved to a new forum and struggled to stay on its feet. Throughout this transition to a new forum and new leadership, many GMs were lost in the fog. While about 13-15 GMs existed during the inaugural draft, only about 9-11 of those GMs found their way to the new forum. While many GMs were angry with Josh R for abandoning the league, one could see this as a test for the CMHL. I was able to contact AsmodeanReborn, GM of Pittsburgh and LO, and ask him about the dark time of the CMHL. I asked him what he thought was going to happen to the CMHL after Josh R left.

"For a while I was afraid it was all going down the drain, and I was considering just looking for a new league myself." -AsmodeanReborn, Pittsburgh GM

With all odds stacked up against it, the CMHL was barely able to survive such a devastating blow, but it did. This shows the great strength and vitality of this great league of ours. No one really knows why Joshr R left, but after several months of playing, Josh R returned to the forums for an apology to the league. He stated his personal life was too busy and wanted to apologize for not telling us. Many GMs forgave Josh R and understand, but others are still disappointed he didn't help the league continue. After the league gots its footing back in place and became more organized, the league started up.

The CMHL experienced two waves of new members join the league. These two waves of new GMs were due to the league's growing popularity in hockey forums or among friends. Now the league is filled up with no room to spare. With a waiting list to enter the league, LO's devised a staff system that would allow new members to work under a current GM to gain experience in the league. The first of these is Cmousers, who has joined the Toronto Maple Leafs under Chrisfill. Y2G has also been interested in joining Colorado under Moll. Now that the league has become truly great and organized, many problems and bumps arise.

Players missing from rosters, trade scandals, and rivalries formed, and it's still only the first year. The first year of the CMHL league started out with a bang and GM's slowly flowed in to be a part of one of the hottest fantasy hockey leagues on the internet today. As the second year slowly approaches we are asked to look back at what has happened in the last year, and how these situations can be fixed. We have a list of determined LO's to make sure that this league does not fall through. Last season the league officials were put to their first test, and had to deal with a player being put on the wrong team because he was not listed on his team's roster, as well as a cheating scandal that rocked the entire league.

Towards the beginning of the year, the CMHL experienced problems like any other new organization, and was trying to find better ways to be productive, and speed things up. One of the big problems this year was the player who didn't really have a team to play for. Tampa Bay originally drafted Mike Peca in the CMHL Draft. However, Montreal signed him as a Free Agent. Tampa Bay played the whole season without Peca. Once the season was over and the problem was discovered, a huge dilemma was brought before the League Officials. The LOs ruled to send Peca back to Tampa Bay. In compensation, Montreal would receive the best Free Agent after Season 1 was completed.

Another big part of the year was the Kyle Stewart situation. All the old GM's that have been with the league for some time know what this whole thing was about, but for you new GM's I'll give you a brief summary. Kyle Stewart was the ex general manager for the St. Louis Blues, and he had secretly joined the league as another user, and took control of another team. He then made an outrageous trade that was approved because outrageous trades happen. After this a trade was being made, and he posted under the wrong name, which caused confusion because the trade was his other teams but he posted wrong. The LO's acted smartly and swiftly.

  I asked a few GM's in the league what they thought about the situation and how it was handled.
    "I think it was quite odd that someone would cheat in a frickin FANTASY game but he did it and no one but him will know why. I think it was a tad unfair to boot him from the league. he was a good, dedicated GM that just screwed up, very,very,very,very bad. although it was funny as hell when he tried to come back under his CIAdude guest name and say they weren't the same guy. " - Max Power (GM of the Devils)

The GM who discovered the dual league membership of Kyle Stewart was plc. I was unable to actually speak to plc but I was able to talk to various members of his staff at his head quarters in Dallas, and they were able to give me a statement on what he believed about this situation. He was quoted as saying, "Well, I think the league just did what they should had done, being the one that found the glitch I'm happy I have been heard by the LO's." - plc (GM of the Stars)

The St.Louis Blues have seen the most struggles than any other team as far as management goes. During the first season, the Blues have seen 4 different GMs lead the team: Dodi (a friend of mine), Kyle Stewart, Geoff, and Maider. Currently, Maider is on hiatus and does not know when he will return to managing the Blues. It is possible that a 5th GM is on the way.

With all this talk of departing GMs, I think we should remember some of the notable CMHL members that have left us. M3, former league commissioner, left shortly after Josh R, but once and a while, he returns to say hi and good luck. Hbears, former LO and GM of Carolina, left after an argument with Max Power. It was sad to see someone leave after a silly argument like that. Kyle Stewart, perhaps one of the most dedicated GMs the league has ever seen, was banned for cheating. Even with all these people leaving, the CMHL stood firm in its spot.

Due to the steadfast action of the LO's and dedication to the league from every GM I believe that next year will be twice as better then the first. I asked several GM's what they believed next year would bring. I was able to catch Eluzion73, the GM of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and sit down and have a cup of coffee with him, and this is one of the questions I asked him, and he said that the league was a success "Cuz we got people like Habsfan and others who give their 100% to make this league the best one" and that next year would "awesome".

The year ended with the awarding of the Stanley cup, and the recipient of the first CMHL Stanley cup was the Colorado Avalanche, and their GM, Moll was all smiles. I was awarded a guest pass to his house in Canada, and spent a weekend with his family. I asked him what his most memorable moment of the year was and he replied, "To win the Stanley cup. It was a great feeling to see my team at the end with the first CMHL cup. I put a lot of work on my team and I'm really happy to see it pay off." Congrats to Moll on his first Stanley Cup and I wish him as well as his franchise the best of luck in seasons to come. Could this perhaps be the start of a CMHL dynasty? Only time will tell.

I finally caught up with Kookaranian, an LO in the CMHL league, and a personal friend of mine. I spent some time with him at his house in Scottsdale, Arizona in the offseason and asked him what he thought was the biggest reason for CMHL's success, and he replied with the following. "I think the CMHL is successful because of the dedication of LOs and an organized system created by the LOs. But also because the CMHL roots out GMs that arent active and always make sure those who participate are active in the league. I'm glad that so many GMs have kept their interest in the league."

I personally think that the LO's have set up the system, but the league has been so successful because of every single one of the GM's who have committed to making this league a success. Without all the hard work and dedication that all of the GM's have put in, this league would just be like something you'd find on Yahoo, or MSN.

In one year, the CMHL has had its ups and downs, and experienced everything in between. The next year might be as tumultuous as this one, or could be the complete opposite. That outcome is up to all of us, and we shall see how this upcoming year turns out.

Written by Kookaranian and habsfan93

The CMHL received a rude awakening when it was determined that Kyle Stewart, CIAdude and possibly Hockey101 were the same person. Not long ago, HBearsAHL31, the previous Carolina GM, resigned for personal reasons. Within half a day, CIAdude joined our league and claimed the Hurricanes. Within the next 24 hours, CIAdude and Kyle Stewart went on to produce the biggest deal, and possibly the most one-sided deal, in CMHL history by sending Martin Brodeur to St. Louis.

We were not tipped off to this gross infraction however, until later, when plc (Dallas' GM) attempted to work a deal with Carolina for Rod Brind'Amour. In response to an offer from Dallas, St. Louis, not Carolina, responded saying: "I might consider this offer, but could you throw in another player or 3rd-5th round pick?".

Odd! Why would St. Louis respond in this way? Dallas then replied: "wtf I thought Carolina had Brind'Amour I'm really confused now?" Confused indeed! So confused that plc sent habsfan93 a PM pointing this out and thinking that maybe, just maybe St. Louis and Carolina could be the same person. St. Louis then went on to try and explain himself, but not well enough obviously.  Kyle Stewart then stated "I meant I wouldnt mind making an offer like that, sry for the confusion lol. " in order to try and cover for his mistake of failing to switch to CIAdude's account.  

Upon receiving plc's message, habsfan93 noticed this instantly. It all fit in a little too well.  Upon investigating the matter, LO's had discoverd that Kyle Stewart, CIAdude, and Hockey101 were all using the same computer.  By the time Stewart tried to cover his mistake, the LO's knew what was going on and what to do. Within seconds, a post was made in the LO's room, and within 10 mins, an emergency LO meeting was underway with everyone in attendance. Upon first hearing of the possibility, LO Kookaranian had this to add: "omfg, I have been expecting this. I even told my friend Kipper that I wouldnt be surprised if Kyle Stewart and CIAdude were the same guy, since the trade was too shitty."

The meeting was organized in a matter of minutes and all of the LO's were there: Habsfan, Jay, Grizzlygoalie, HBearsAHL, AsmodeanReborn, and Kookaranian.   All of the LO's quickly agreed to cancel the Brodeur trade and nullifying all of CIAdude's previous trades. The conspiracy had the LO's in a stir, but they didnt want to rush to any conclusions.  They would allow Kyle Stewart to make his defense.  Upon hearing that his acquisition of Brodeur was cancelled, Stewart offered no complaint and seemed all too calm about it.  When asked why he cheated, Stewart continued to deny it.  He stated his friend, CIAdude, was living with him for a month and has been using the same computer, and that Hockey101 was his cousin that also uses the same computer.   However, when asked why Stewart responded as if he were CIAdude in the Brind'Amour trade, Stewart left the meeting instantly.  The LO's knew that Stewart had acted as Carolina and tried to cover it up.  He spoke in first person, as if he were Carolina, then didn't tell LO's that he had accidently logged in as the wrong user.  Instead, Stewart had not denied that is was him who responded to Dallas's offer.  This was the main proof against Stewart.  If it was CIAdude who accidently logged in as Stewart, why would he tell plc (Dallas) that he was in the wrong account? Because he panicked and made a bad situation worse, he admitted it was him.  If you read the Brind'Amour thread ( http://cmhlrangers.proboards25.com/index.cgi?board=u&action=display&num=1092343676 ) you can see it for yourself. 

Kyle Stewart decided to come back on MSN to make his case again.  This time, he had a private conversation with LO Grizzlygoalie.  Stewart continued to deny any wrong-doing.  Stewart stated that CIAdude is his friend from the Carolina area who came to B.C. to go camping with Stewart.  When asked why anyone would agree to such a terrible trade involving Brodeur, Stewart denied that the trade was lop-sided or unfair.   The LO's knew that sharing the same computer with two people if perfectly possible and legal, but its the way Stewart tries to cover for himself in the Brind'Amour trade that really brings out the truth.  Why wouldnt they just admit one of them failed to change accounts? But Stewart tried to tell plc(Dallas) that's how he would do the deal, even though he spoke in first person as Carolina. 

After Kyle was asked to leave, the LO's agreed to hold a vote.  Using the information they were given, each LO cast his vote: probation or banning.  For probation, Kyle would have had to give up his 1st round pick, sit his captain for 5 games, and pay a fine.  Banning is pretty much self-explanatory.  After four LO's voted 2-2, the last vote was up to 5th LO (who shall rename nameless for certain reasons).  After pondering the case, the 5th LO voted for banning.  So let it be written , so let it be done: Kyle Stewart, CIAdude, and Hockey101 were all banned from the CMHL league.  After still talking about the issue, some LO's wanted to give Stewart a chance to prove his innocence, if possible.  The ban still stands for one month, then Stewart will be able to try his case for innocence.   The LO will notify Stewart of his punishment and will wait for his defense one month from now.  The first illegal incident in the CMHL was handled with swift and powerful justice.  Kyle Stewart will have his own legacy as the first to corrupt his position in the CMHL.  This was by far the biggest incident in the CMHL.