Acquaint yourself with some guys who may be the next coach of the Buffalo Sabres. I’ve seen/heard 25 names associated with the position, some are realistic and some in jest. All coaches are listed in alphabetical order by last name. Please let me know of anyone I may have missed. Google Drive link may show up better: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_47pCrdfk4mcoWczsHPO_4T-SyWc_z_qeyq44Arrae4/edit?usp=sharing

Kevyn Adams (age 49)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Niagara Scenics (NAHL) 1990-92
-Center for the Miami Redskins (NCAA-CCHA) 1992-96
-Center for the Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) 1996-97
-Center for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 1997-2000
-Center for the St. John’s Maple Leafs (AHL) 1997-2000
-Center for the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) 2000-01
-Center for the Florida Panthers (NHL) 2001-02
-Center for the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) 2002-07
-Center for Düsseldorfer Eislauf Gemeinschaft (DEL) 2004-05 (NHL Lockout)
-Center for the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) 2007
-Center for the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) 2007-08
-Player Agent for various NHL players 2009-11
-Assistant Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2011-13
-Senior Vice President of Business Administration for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2019-20
-General Manager for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2020-Present
Awards and Honors:
*1993 Boston Bruins First Round Pick
*1995 All-CCHA Second Team Center
*2006 Stanley Cup Champion

Seth Appert (age 49)

Hockey Experience:
-Goaltender for the Park High School Wolfpack (HS) 1991-92
-Goaltender for the Ferris State University Bulldogs (NCAA-CCHA) 1992-96
-Assistant Coach for the Denver Pioneers (NCAA-NCHC) 1997-2006
-Head Coach for the Rensselaer Engineers (NCAA-ECAC) 2006-2017
-Assistant Coach for the United States U18 Team 2007
-Head Coach for the United States U18 Team 2008
-Assistant Coach for the United States U18 Team 2017
-Assistant Coach for United States International Team 2017-18
-Head Coach for the United States U18 Team 2017-18
-Head Coach for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 2020-Present
Awards and Honors:
*2008-11 President of the American Hockey Coaches Association

Craig Berube (age 58)

Hockey Experience:
-Left Wing for the Williams Lake Mustangs (PCJHL) 1982-83
-Left Wing for the Kamloops Oilers (WHL) 1982-83
-Left Wing for the New Westminster Bruins (WHL) 1983-85
-Left Wing for the Kamloops Blazers (WHL) 1985-86
-Left Wing for the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) 1986
-Left Wing for the Hershey Bears (AHL) 1986-89
-Left Wing for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) 1986-91
-Left Wing for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 1991-92
-Left Wing for the Calgary Flames (NHL) 1992-93
-Left Wing for the Washington Capitals (NHL) 1993-99
-Left Wing for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) 1999-2000
-Left Wing for the Washington Capitals (NHL) 2000-01
-Left Wing for the New York Islanders (NHL) 2001
-Left Wing for the Calgary Flames (NHL) 2001-03
-Left Wing for the Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL) 2003-04
-Head Coach for the Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL) 2006
-Assistant Coach for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) 2006-07
-Head Coach for the Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL) 2007-13
-Head Coach for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) 2013-15
-Scout for Canada International Team 2016
-Head Coach for the Chicago Wolves (AHL) 2016-17
-Assistant Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 2017-18
-Head Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 2018-24
Awards and Honors:
*2016 World Cup of Hockey Champion
*2019 Stanley Cup Champion

Bruce Boudreau (age 69)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Toronto Marlboros (OHA) 1972-74
-Center for the Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) 1974-75
-Center for the Minnesota Fighting Saints (WHA) 1975-76
-Center for the Johnstown Jets (NAHL) 1975-76
-Center for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 1976-83
-Center for the Dallas Black Hawks (CHL) 1976-78
-Center for the New Brunswick Hawks (AHL) 1978-81
-Center for the Cincinnati Tigers (CHL) 1981-82
-Center for the St. Catharines Saints (AHL) 1982-84
-Center for Eishockey Deilinghofen Iserlohn (GBUN-1) 1984-85
-Center for the Baltimore Skipjacks (AHL) 1984-85
-Center for the Chicago Black Hawks (NHL) 1985-86
-Center for the Nova Scotia Oilers (AHL) 1985-87
-Center for the Springfield Indians (AHL) 1987-89
-Center for the Newmarket Saints (AHL) 1989
-Center for the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) 1989-90
-Center for the Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) 1990-92
-Center for the Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) 1992
-Head Coach for the Muskegon Fury (IHL) 1993-94
-Head Coach for the Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL) 1994-96
-Head Coach for the Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL) 1996-99
-Head Coach for the Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) 19989-2001
-Head Coach for the Manchester Monarchs (AHL) 2001-05
-Head Coach for the Hershey Bears (AHL) 2005-07
-Head Coach for the Washington Capitals (NHL) 2007-11
-Head Coach for the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) 2012-16
-Head Coach for the Minnesota Wild (NHL) 2016-20
-Head Coach for the Vancouver Canucks (NHL) 2021-23
Awards and Honors:
*1994 Commissioner’s Trophy Winner
*1999 East Coast Hockey League Champion
*2006 Calder Cup Champion
*2008 Jack Adams Award Winner

Scotty Bowman (age 90)

Hockey Experience:
-Assistant Coach for the Ottawa-Hull Canadiens (QJHL) 1956
-Head Coach for the Ottawa-Hull Canadiens (QJHL) 1957-68
-Head Coach for the Peterborough Petes (OHA) 1958-1967
-Head Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1967-71
-Head Coach for the Montreal Canadiens (NHL) 1971-79
-Head Coach for Canada International Team 1976
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 1979-87
-Head Coach for Canada International Team 1981
-Director of Player Personnel for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 1990-91
-Head Coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 1991-93
-Head Coach for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 1993-2002
-Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) 2008-22
Awards and Honors:
*1958 Memorial Cup Champion
*13x Stanley Cup Champion (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2013, 2015)
*1976 Canada Cup Champion
*Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 1991
*2002 Wayne Gretzky International Award Winner

Rod Brind'Amour (age 53)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Notre Dame Hounds (SMHL) 1986-87
-Center for the Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL) 1987-88
-Center for the Michigan State University Spartans (NCAA-CCHA) 1988-89
-Center for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1989-91
-Center for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) 1991-99
-Center for the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) 2000-10
-Center for the Kloten Flyers (NLA) 2004-05 (NHL Lockout)
-Assistant Coach for the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) 2011-18
-Head Coach for the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) 2018-Present
Honors and Awards:
*1988 St. Louis Blues First Round Pick
*1989 All-CCHA Rookie Team Center
*1992 NHL All-Star
*1994 World Championships Gold Medalist
*1996 World Cup of Hockey Champion
*2006 Stanley Cup Champion
*2x Frank J. Selke Trophy Winner (2006, 2007)
*2021 Jack Adams Award Winner

Dan Bylsma (age 53)

Hockey Experience:
-Right Wing for the Oakville Blades (CJHL) 1986-87
-Right Wing for the St. Marys Lincolns (WOHL) 1986-8
-Right Wing for the Bowling Green University Falcons (NCAA-CCHA) 1988-92
-Right Wing for the Greensboro Monarchs (ECHL) 1992-94
-Right Wing for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 1992-93
-Right Wing for the Albany River Rats (AHL) 1993
-Right Wing for the Moncton Hawks (AHL) 1993-94
-Right Wing for the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) 1994-96
-Right Wing for the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) 1995-2000
-Right Wing for the Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) 1997-2000
-Right Wing for the Springfield Falcons (AHL) 1998-99
-Right Wing for the Lowell Lock Monsters (AHL) 1999-2000
-Right Wing for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (NHL) 2000-04
-Right Wing for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL) 2003-04
-Assistant Coach for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL) 2004-05
-Assistant Coach for the New York Islanders (AHL) 2005-06
-Head Coach for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins (AHL) 2008-09
-Head Coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 2009-14
-Head Coach for the United States National Team 2014
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2015-17
-Assistant Coach for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 2018-21
-Assistant Coach for the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) 2021-22
-Head Coach for the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL) 2022-Present
Awards and Honors:
*2009 Stanley Cup Champion
*2011 Jack Adams Award Winner

Dallas Eakins (age 57)

Hockey Experience:
-Defenseman for the Peterborough Travelways (OMHA) 1983-84
-Defenseman for the Peterborough Legionnaires (OMHA) 1984
-Defenseman for the Peterborough Petes (OHL) 1984-88
-Defenseman for the Baltimore Skipjacks (AHL) 1988-89
-Defenseman for the Moncton Hawks (AHL) 1989-93
-Defenseman for the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) 1992-93
-Defenseman for the Florida Panthers (NHL) 1993-95
-Defenseman for the Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) 1993-95
-Defenseman for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1995-96
-Defenseman for the Worcester Ice Cats (AHL) 1995-96
-Defenseman for the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) 1996
-Defenseman for the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) 1996-97
-Defenseman for the Springfield Falcons (AHL) 1996-97
-Defenseman for the New York Rangers (NHL) 1997
-Defenseman for the Binghamton Rangers (AHL) 1997
-Defenseman for the Florida Panthers (NHL) 1997-98
-Defenseman for the New Haven Beast (AHL) 1997-98
-Defenseman for the St. John’s Maple Leafs (AHL) 1998-99
-Defenseman for the Chicago Wolves (IHL) 1998-2001
-Defenseman for the New York Islanders (NHL) 1999-2000
-Defenseman for the Calgary Flames (NHL) 2000-02
-Defenseman for the Chicago Wolves (AHL) 2001-03
-Defenseman for the Manitoba Moose (AHL) 2003-04
-Assistant Coach for the Toronto Marlies (AHL) 2004-06
-Assistant Coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 2006-09
-Head Coach for the Toronto Marlies (AHL) 2009-13
-Head Coach for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) 2013-15
-Head Coach for the San Diego Gulls (AHL) 2015-19
-Head Coach for the Anaheim Ducks (NHL) 2019-23
-General ManageActing Head Coach for Adler Mannheim (DEL) 2023-Present
Awards and Honors:
*First Floridian to record a point in the NHL

Matt Ellis (age 42)

Hockey Experience:
-Left Wing for the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors (OHL) 1998-2002
-Left Wing for the Toledo Storm (ECHL) 2002-03
-Left Wing for the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) 2003-07
-Left Wing for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 2006-08
-Left Wing for the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) 2008
-Left Wing for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2008-15
-Left Wing for the Portland Pirates (AHL) 2008-09
-Left Wing for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 2012-16
-Assistant Coach for the Buffalo Sabres 2016-Present
Awards and Honors:
*Youngest Captain in Grand Rapids Griffins history

Dean Evason (age 59)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Cowichan Valley Capitals (BCJHL) 1980-81
-Center for the Spokane Chiefs (WHL) 1980-82
-Center for the Kamloops Oilers (WHL) 1982-84
-Center for the Washington Capitals (NHL) 1983-85
-Center for the Hartford Whalers (NHL) 1984-91
-Center for the Binghamton Whalers (AHL) 1984-86
-Center for the San Jose Sharks (NHL) 1991-93
-Center for the Calgary Flames (NHL) 1995-96
-Center for Eislaufverein Zug (NLA) 1996-97
-Center for Eislaufverein Landshut (DEL) 1997-99
-Head Coach for the Kamloops Blazers (WHL) 1999-2002
-Head Coach for the Vancouver Giants (WHL) 2002-04
-Head Coach for the Calgary Hitmen (WHL) 2004-05
-Assistant Coach for the Washington Capitals (NHL) 2005-12
-Head Coach for the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) 2012-18
-Assistant Coach for the Minnesota Wild (NHL) 2018-20
-Head Coach for the Minnesota Wild (NHL) 2020-24
Awards and Honors:
*1984 WHL West First All-Star Team Center
*1997 World Championships Gold Medalist

Gerard Gallant (age 60)

Hockey Experience:
-Left Wing for the Summerside Crystals (MJHL) 1979-80
-Left Wing for the Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) 1980-82
-Left Wing for the St-Jean Castors (QMJHL) 1982-83
-Left Wing for the Verdun Juniors (QMJHL) 1983
-Left Wing for the Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) 1983-85
-Left Wing for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 1984-93
-Left Wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) 1993-95
-Left Wing for the Atlanta Knights (IHL) 1994-95
-Head Coach for the Summerside Capitals (MJHL) 1995-97
-Left Wing for the Detroit Vipers (IHL) 1996
-Assistant Coach for the Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) 1998
-Assistant Coach for the Louisville Panthers (AHL) 1999-2000
-Assistant Coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) 2001-03
-Head Coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) 2003-07
-Assistant Coach for the Canada International Team 2007
-Assistant Coach for the New York Islanders (NHL) 2007-09
-Head Coach for the Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) 2009-12
-Assistant Coach for the Montreal Canadiens (NHL) 2012-14
-Head Coach for the Florida Panthers (NHL) 2014-17
-Head Coach for the Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) 2017-20
-Head Coach for the Canada International Team 2021
-Head Coach for the New York Rangers (NHL) 2021-23
Honors and Awards:
*4x QMJHL Champion (1982, 1983, 2011, 2012)
*1983 QMJHL All-Star, Third Team Left Wing
*1989 NHL All-Star, Second Team Left Wing
*1989 World Championships Silver Medalist
*1997 Royal Bank Cup Champion
*2x World Championships Gold Medalist (2007, 2021)
*2x Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award (2010, 2011)
*2011 Memorial Cup Championship
*2011 Ron Lapointe Trophy Winner
*2x NHL All Star Game Head Coach (2016, 2018)
*2018 Jack Adams Award Winner
*2018 Scotty Bowman Award Winner

Phil Housely (age 60)

Hockey Experience:
-Defenseman for the South Saint Paul Secondary Packers (HS) 1980-82
-Defenseman for the St. Paul Vulcans (USHL) 1980-81
-Defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 1982-90
-Defenseman for the Winnipeg Jets (NHL) 1990-93
-Defenseman for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1993-94
-Defenseman for Zürcher Schlittschuh Club (NDA) 1994 (NHL Lockout)
-Defenseman for the Calgary Flames (NHL) 1994-96
-Defenseman for the New Jersey Devils (NHL) 1996
-Defenseman for the Washington Capital (NHL) 1996-98
-Defenseman for the Calgary Flames (NHL) 1998-2001
-Defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) 2001-03
-Defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 2003
-Head Coach for the Stillwater Area High School Ponies (HS) 2004-13
-Assistant Coach for the Nashville Predators (NHL) 2013-17
-Head Coach for the United States U20 Team 2013
-Assistant Coach for the United States International Team 2013
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2017-19
-Assistant Coach for the Arizona Coyotes (NHL) 2019-22
-Assistant Coach for the New York Rangers (NHL) 2023-Present
Awards and Honors:
*1983 NHL All-Rookie Team Defenseman
*7x NHL All-Star (1984, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000)
*1992 NHL Second All-Star Team Defenseman
*1996 World Cup of Hockey Champion
*2002 Winter Olympics Silver Medalist
*United States Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2004
*International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame Class of 2012
*2013 U20 World Championships Gold Medalist
*2013 World Championships Bronze Medalist
*Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2015

Sheldon Keefe (age 43)

Hockey Experience:
-Right Wing for the Toronto Nationals (Bantam) 1995-96
-Right Wing for the Quinte Hawks (MJHL) 1996-97
-Right Wing for the Bramalea Blues (OPJHL) 1996-97
-Right Wing for the Caledon Canadiens (MJHL) 1997-98
-Right Wing for the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors (OHL) 1998-99
-Right Wing for the Barrie Colts (OHL) 1999-2000
-Right Wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) 2000-03
-Right Wing for the Detroit Vipers (IHL) 2000-01
-Right Wing for the Springfield Falcons (AHL) 2001-03
-Right Wing for the Hershey Bears (AHL) 2003-04
-Right Wing for the Utah Grizzlies (AHL) 2004-05
-Assistant Coach and Assistant General Manager for the Pembroke Lumber Kings (CCHL) 2005-06
-Head Coach for the Pembroke Lumber Kings (CCHL) 2006-13
-Head Coach for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) 2012-15
-Head Coach for the Toronto Marlies (AHL) 2015-20
-Head Coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 2020-Present
Awards and Honors:
*1999 OHL All-Rookie Team Right Wing
*1999 OHL Rookie of the Year
*2000 OHL Second All-Star Team Right Wing
*2000 Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy Winner
*2000 Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team Right Wing
*2000 Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star Team Right Wing
*5x Central Canada Hockey League Champion (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
*2018 Calder Cup Championship

Ralph Krueger (age 64)

Hockey Experience:
-Right Wing for the Assiniboine Park Monarchs (MJHL) 1976-77
-Right Wing for Duisburger Sportclub (FRG-2) 1977-78
-Right Wing for the New Westminster Bruins (WHL) 1978
-Right Wing for the Calgary Wranglers (WHL) 1978-79
-Right Wing for Düsseldorfer Eislauf Gemeinschaft (GBUN-1) 1979-82
-Right Wing for Schwenninger Eishockey und Rollschuh Club (GBUN-1) 1982-84
-Right Wing for Sportclub Risesserse (GBUN-1) 1984-85
-Right Wing for Eishockey Deilinghofen Iserlohn (GBUN-1) 1985-86
-Right Wing for Düsseldorfer Eislauf Gemeinschaft (GBUN-1) 1986-88
-Right Wing for Krefelder Eingetragener Verein 1981 (FRG-2) 1988-89
-Right Wing for Duisburger Sportclub (FRG-2) 1989-90
-Right Wing for Eishockey Club Ratingen (FRG-2) 1991
-Assistant Coach for Eingetragener Verein Duisburger (FRG-2) 1991-94
-Head Coach for Vereinigung Europäischer Unternehmensberater Feldkirch (OEL) 1994-98
-Head Coach for the Switzerland International Team 1998
-Scouting Consultant for the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) 2002-10
-Assistant Coach for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) 2010-12
-Head Coach for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) 2012-13
-Advisor for Canada International Team 2014
-Chairman for Southampton Football Club (EFL) 2014-19 (not hockey experience, so why did the Sabres hire him when he was doing soccer???)
-Head Coach for Team Europe 2016
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2019-21
Awards and Honors:
*5x O Eishockey Liga Champion (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
*2006 Stanley Cup Champion
*2014 Winter Olympics Gold Medalist

Jay Leach (age 44)

Hockey Experience:
-Defenseman for the Providence College Friars (NCAA-HE) 1997-2001
-Defenseman for the Mississippi Sea Wolves (ECHL) 2001-02
-Defenseman for the Augusta Lynx (ECHL) 2002-03
-Defenseman for the Springfield Falcons (AHL) 2002-03
-Defenseman for the Long Beach Ice Dogs (ECHL) 2003
-Defenseman for the Providence Bruins (AHL) 2003
-Defenseman for the Trenton Titans (ECHL) 2003-05
-Defenseman for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) 2003-04
-Defenseman for the Providence Bruins (AHL) 2004-07
-Defenseman for the Boston Bruins (NHL) 2005-06
-Defenseman for the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) 2007-08
-Defenseman for the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) 2007-08
-Defenseman for the Portland Pirates (AHL) 2008
-Defenseman for the Lowell Devils (AHL) 2008-10
-Defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens (NHL) 2009-10
-Defenseman for the San Jose Sharks (NHL) 2010
-Defenseman for the Worcester Sharks (AHL) 2010-11
-Defenseman for the Albany Devils (AHL) 2011-13
-Defenseman for the New Jersey Devils (NHL) 2011
-Assistant Coach for Adler Mannheim (DEL) 2014
-Assistant Coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 2015
-Head Coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 2015-16
-Assistant Coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 2016
-Assistant Coach for the Providence Bruins (AHL) 2016-17
-Head Coach for the Providence Bruins (AHL) 2017-21
-Assistant Coach for the Seattle Kraken (NHL) 2021-Present
Awards and Honors:
*2014 Deutsche Eishockey Liga Championship

Todd McLellan (age 56)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Saskatoon Blazers (SMHL) 1982-83
-Center for the Saskatoon Blades (WHL) 1983-87
-Center for the New York Islanders (NHL) 1987-88
-Center for the Springfield Indians (AHL) 1987-89
-Player-Coach for Utrecht (ED) 1990-92
-Head Coach for the North Battleford North Stars (SJL) 1993-94
-Head Coach and General Manager for the Swift Current Broncos (WHL) 1994-2000
-Head Coach for the Cleveland Lumberjacks (IHL) 2000-01
-Head Coach for the Houston Aeros (AHL) 2001-05
-Assistant Coach for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 2005-08
-Head Coach for the San Jose Sharks (NHL) 2008-15
-Head Coach for the Canada International Team 2015
-Head Coach for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) 2015-19
-Head Coach for the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) 2019-24
Awards and Honors:
*1997 Western Hockey League Executive of the Year
*2000 Western Hockey League Coach of the Year
*2003 Calder Cup Champion
*2008 Stanley Cup Champion
*2015 World Championships Gold Medalist

Ted Nolan (age 66)

Hockey Experience:
-Left Wing for the Kenora Thistles (MJHL) 1975-76
-Left Wing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) 1976-78
-Left Wing for the Kansas City Red Wings (CHL) 1978-79
-Left Wing for the Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) 1980-84
-Left Wing for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 1981-84
-Left Wing for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 1984-85
-Left Wing for the Baltimore Skipjacks (AHL) 1985-86
-Left Wing for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 1985-86
-Head Coach for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) 1989-94
-Assistant Coach for the Hartford Whalers (NHL) 1994-95
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 1995-97
-Head Coach for the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) 2005-06
-Head Coach for the New York Islanders (NHL) 2006-08
-Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 2009-11
-Head Coach for the Latvia National Team 2011-14
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2013-15
-Head Coach for the Poland National Team 2017-18
Awards and Honors:
*1991 Kiwanis Citizen of the Year
*2x John Ross Robertson Cup Champion (1991, 1992)
*1994 National Aboriginal Achievement Award Winner
*1997 Jack Adams Award Winner
*2006 President’s Cup Championship

Steve Ott (age 41)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Leamington Flyers (WOHL) 1998-99
-Center for the Windsor Spitfires (OHL) 1999-2002
-Center for the Utah Grizzlies (AHL) 2002-03
-Center for the Dallas Stars (NHL) 2002-12
-Center for the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) 2004-05 (NHL Lockout)
-Center for the Iowa Stars (AHL) 2006-07
-Center for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2012-14
-Center for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 2014-16
-Center for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 2016-17
-Center for the Montreal Canadiens (NHL) 2017
-Assistant Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 2017-Present
Awards and Honors:
*2001 OHL Third All-Star Team Center
*2001 CHL Second All-Star Team Center
*2001 World Junior Championships Bronze Medalist
*2002 OHL Second All-Star Team Center
*2002 World Junior Championships Silver Medalist
*2019 Stanley Cup Champion

Michael Peca (age 50)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Sudbury Wolves (OHL) 1990-92
-Center for the Ottawa 67s (OHL) 1992-94
-Center for the Hamilton Canucks (AHL) 1992-93
-Center for the Vancouver Canucks (NHL) 1993-95
-Center for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 1995-2000
-Center for the New York Islanders (NHL) 2001-04
-Center for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) 2005-06
-Center for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 2006-07
-Center for the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) 2007-09
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (OJHL) 2012-14
-General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations for the Buffalo Sabres (OJHL) 2014-19
-Player Development Coach for the Washington Capitals (NHL) 2021
-Assistant Coach for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 2021-23
-Assistant Coach for the New York Rangers (NHL) 2023-Present
Awards and Honors:
*1994 World Junior Championships Gold Medalist
*2x Frank Joseph Selke Trophy Winner (1997, 2002)
*2002 Olympic Games Gold Medalist
*2013 Ontario Junior Hockey League Coach of the Year

Joel Quenneville (age 65)

Hockey Experience:
-Defenseman for the Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL) 1975-78
-Defenseman for the New Brunswick Hawks (AHL) 1978-79
-Defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) 1978-80
-Defenseman for the Colorado Rockies (NHL) 1980-82
-Defenseman for the New Jersey Devils (NHL) 1982-83
-Defenseman for the Hartford Whalers (NHL) 1983-90
-Defenseman for the Baltimore Skipjacks (AHL) 1990-91
-Defenseman for the Washington Capitals (NHL) 1990-91
-Defenseman for the St. John’s Maple Leafs (AHL) 1991-92
-Assistant Coach for the St. John’s Maple Leafs (AHL) 1992-93
-Head Coach for the Springfield Indians (AHL) 1993-94
-Assistant Coach for the Quebec Nordiques (NHL) 1994-95
-Assistant Coach for the Colorado Avalanche (NHL) 1995-96
-Assistant Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1996-97
-Head Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 1997-2004
-Head Coach for the Colorado Avalanche (NHL) 2005-08
-Head Coach for the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) 2008-18
-Head Coach for the Florida Panthers (NHL) 2019-21
-Blacklisted from the NHL since 2021
Awards and Honors:
*4x Stanley Cup Champion (1996, 2010, 2013, 2015)
*2000 Jack Adams Award Winner
*Employed a Sexual Predator

Ron Rolston (age 57)

Hockey Experience:
-Left Wing for the St. Clair Shores Falcons (NAHL) 1984-86
-Left Wing for the Michigan Tech Huskies (NCAA-WCHA) 1986-89
-Left Wing for the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (ECHL) 1989-90
-Assistant Coach for the Lake Superior State University Lakers (NCAA-CCHA) 1990-95
-Assistant Coach for the Clarkson University Golden Knights (NCAA-CCHA) 1996-99
-Assistant Coach for the Harvard University Crimson (NCAA-ECAC) 1999-2002
-Assistant Coach for the Boston College Eagles (NCAA-HE) 2002-04
-Head Coach for the United States U18 Team 2004-11
-Head Coach for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 2011-13
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 2013
-Scout for the Arizona Coyotes (NHL) 2014-15
-Head Coach for the Springfield Falcons (AHL) 2015-16
-Assistant Coach for the Providence Friars (NCAA-HE) 2017-Present
Awards and Honors:
*2x National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships (1992, 1994)
*3x U18 World Championships Gold Medalist (2005, 2009, 2011)
*2007 U18 World Championships Silver Medalist
*2011 Bob Johnson Award Winner

Lindy Ruff (age 64)

Hockey Experience:
-Defenseman for the Taber Golden Suns (AJHL) 1976-77
-Defenseman for the Lethbridge Broncos (WCHL) 1976-78
-Defenseman for the Lethbridge Broncos (WHL) 1978-79
-Defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 1979-89
-Left Wing for the New York Rangers (NHL) 1989-91
-Left Wing for the Rochester Americans (AHL) 1991-92
-Left Wing for the San Diego Gulls (IHL) 1992-93
-Assistant Coach for the Florida Panthers (NHL) 1993-97
-Head Coach for the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) 1997-2013
-Assistant Coach for the Canada International Team 2010
-Head Coach for the Dallas Stars (NHL) 2013-17
-Assistant Coach for the Canada International Team 2014
-Assistant Coach for the New York Rangers (NHL) 2017-20
-Head Coach for the New Jersey Devils (NHL) 2020-24
Awards and Honors:
*2006 Jack Adams Award Winner
*2x Winter Olympics Gold Medalist (2010, 2014)

Mike Sullivan (age 56)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Boston College High School Eagles (HS) 1985-86
-Center for the Boston University Terriers (NCAA-HE) 1986-90
-Center for the San Diego Gulls (IHL) 1990-91
-Center for the San Jose Sharks (NHL) 1991-94
-Center for the Kansas City Blades (IHL) 1991-94
-Center for the Saint John Flames (AHL) 1994
-Center for the Calgary Flames (NHL) 1994-97
-Center for the Boston Bruins (NHL) 1997-98
-Center for the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) 1998-2002
-Head Coach for the Providence Bruins (AHL) 2002-03
-Head Coach for the Boston Bruins (NHL) 2003-06
-Assistant Coach for the United States National Team 2006
-Assistant Coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) 2007-09
-Assistant Coach for the New York Islanders (NHL) 2009-13
-Assistant Coach for the Vancouver Canucks (NHL) 2013-14
-Player Development Coach for the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) 2014-15
-Head Coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 2015-16
-Head Coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 2016-Present
Awards and Honors:
*2x Stanley Cup Champion (2016, 2017)

Jay Woodcroft (age 47)

Hockey Experience:
-Center for the Aurora Eagles (MJHL) 1993-94
-Center for the Markham Waxers (MJHL) 1994-96
-Center for the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (NCAA-CHA) 1996-2000
-Center for the Jackson Bandits (ECHL) 1999-2000
-Center for the Missouri River Otters (UHL) 2000-01
-Center for the Flint Generals (UHL) 2001-03
-Center for the Anchorage Aces (WCHL) 2001-02
-Center for the Corpus Christi Rayz (CHL) 2003-04
-Center for the Stuttgart Wizards (GOL) 2004-05
-Video Coach for the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) 2005-08
-Assistant Coach for the San Jose Sharks (NHL) 2008-15
-Assistant Coach for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) 2015-18
-Head Coach for the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) 2018-22
-Head Coach for the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) 2022-24
Honors and Awards:
*2008 Stanley Cup Champion

Mike Yeo (age 50)

Hockey Experience:
-Left Wing for the Sudbury Wolves (OHL) 1990-94
-Left Wing for the Houston Aeros (IHL) 1994-99
-Left Wing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 1999-2000
-Assistant Coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) 2000-05
-Assistant Coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) 2005-10
-Head Coach for the Houston Aeros (AHL) 2010-11
-Head Coach for the Minnesota Wild (NHL) 2011-16
-Assistant Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 2016-17
-Head Coach for the St. Louis Blues (NHL) 2017-19
-Assistant Coach for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) 2019-22
-Head Coach for the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) 2022
-Assistant Coach for the Vancouver Canucks (NHL) 2022-Present
Awards and Honors:
*1999 Turner Cup Champion
*2009 Stanley Cup Champion

Part 2 of chapter 4.
Credit to SussyBaka on the NoP discord for helping me proofread.
Credit for The Nature of Predators goes to SpacePaladin15, and credit for Starsector goes to Fractal Softworks.
This fanfiction is going to contain HEAVY spoilers for Starsector, and they will not be censored for the sake of readability. If you are interested in the game and have not yet experienced it, I encourage you to do that before reading this fanfiction.
First ---------- Previous ---------- Part 1 ---------- Next
Goliath’s POV
“What the fuck was that, Goliath?!?!” The pilot had yelled at me, patching up a damaged part of the cockpit with the rivet gun I had given to him. “Necessary.” I responded plainly, continuing to look through the sensor feeds. The news was not good; the fighters were capable of space flight as well, and a majority of the local fleet had noticed us and started charging up weapons. SHIT. “News isn’t good, fellas. Put on armour if you haven’t already.” The few crewmen who hadn’t put on personal armour had done so near immediately, and a mix of marines and crew focused on protecting the unconscious crewmen as I opened fleet-wide comms.
“We need fleet-wide sensor data, our own sensor suites are compromised.” Affirmations from the various ship captains followed, as I swerved the ship downwards to dodge a shot from the ground-based lasers, the targeting algorithms finally catching up after the near-180 degree turn. “Any nearby Dooms, lay phase mines behind me constantly, we need to distract the fighters. Harbingers, head over to the biggest ships and overload them.” A moment later and the sensor data from the fleet had arrived, immediately overloading the screen in front of me with new contacts and what would be an… uncountable number of projectiles to dodge. The Dooms and Harbingers aren’t going to be anywhere near enough… A sense of dread creeped over me as I realized the only answer to the sheer amount of projectiles heading our way. “Xenorphica, you’ll… have to disengage safeties and reroute as much power as possible to the mote attractors.”
Fleet-wide comms had gone silent.
One of the technicians working on the mote attractors yelled out at me, breaking the silence. “Are you insane, Goliath? Do y-” I cut him off. “I know damn well what I'm asking you to do, and until we can dive into P-space, there’s not any other option. Now go and supercharge the mote attractors, or we are DEAD.” Moments passed, and we had crossed the last layer of the planet’s atmosphere. Weapons from various nearby ships had started firing at us, and a positively MASSIVE swarm of motes started pouring out of the TTS Xenorphica, on their way to intercept as many targets as they could. I had a moment to think about the situation before the swarm of projectiles hit us.
I’ve ordered not just any capital ship, but specifically the Ziggurat, and the most volatile subsystem it has, to be overclocked; I’m facing down the wrath of hundreds, possibly thousands of ships, having unfathomable numbers of projectiles being shot at me each second in order to kill us, the troop compartment has been sheared off, and the armour is already significantly damaged. Non-essential power routed to engines and thrusters, the intercom blared out. The lights dimmed to a minimum as I steeled myself for the onslaught to come, the sensor display in front of me splitting into several different viewpoints from various angles, zoom levels, and levels of detail. Images of the original fight against the TTS Xenorphica from all those years ago flashed in my mind. You’ve got this, Goliath.
The Phantom dodged wildly in every direction under my controls, the inertial dampeners strained to their limits from the maneuvers I was forcing the Phantom to undergo. Projectiles of various kinds were zipping right past the ship in front of me, with loud groaning coming from the remaining hull from the structural stresses. Phase mines from whatever Dooms were nearby were being laid in bursts, acting effectively as space flak against the fighters, while the Harbingers had overloaded dozens of ships. The flood of motes coming from Xenorphica was doing the brunt of the work, however, intercepting fighters, missiles, some of the plasma rounds, and disabling actively firing weapons.
Despite all of this, the Phantom was still being consistently hit with projectiles. Depressurisation warnings blared out from various parts of the ship, and our own sensors were continuing to get destroyed. Multiple deep gashes in the hull were present across the ship in one of the low-poly displays, from varying kinetic and energy weapons. Fighters that had braved the phase mine screen were continuing to fire their weapons at us, and all of the crew were focused on either patching up the hull, the wounded, or fixing the phase coils. Marines had taken the opportunity to fire small-arms out of the openings created by weapons fire, to limited effect this time around.
A massive explosion rocked the ship as one of the fuel tanks got hit, not having enough time to drain their antimatter fuel from one tank to another. The hull on that side had a massive hole where the fuel tank once was, with everyone in that section on the ship either wounded or holding on for their lives. A chain of unfortunate crewmen holding on from one another formed, extending away from the Phantom. I quickly flicked the ship to bring them back, eating some kinetics to the helm in the process, with very limited spall getting through due to the mostly intact helm armour. People started patching up the hull with whatever they could, but still focusing on bringing the phase coils back online.
Thrusters were starting to get continuously damaged and misaligned again, throwing off my evasive maneuvers slightly. I was quick to adapt, however, and avoided getting hit by anything big, but only barely. The brunt of the missiles the alien fleet had been used at this point, allowing the metaphorical ocean of motes from Xenorphica to direct itself to other targets. Blood rushed to my brain suddenly as one of the inertial dampeners got disabled from a plasma round, then just as suddenly came back to the rest of my body as the backup dampeners turned on.
The Dooms were out of range to use their phase mines effectively, and switched to lobbing Sabot missiles at ships the motes weren’t going for. The Harbingers needed to relocate and change the ships they were overloading, on account of the alien fleet shifting their weapons to keep up with my Phantom; one of the Harbingers narrowly dodged a spinal plasma shot. A very loud, continued ringing started emanating throughout the ship, as the reactor room’s armour had taken a direct hit from kinetics.
Moments later, despite my best evasive maneuvers and the flood of motes from Xenorphica, a plasma round from the alien fleet had hit the reactor room again, nearly the same spot as the previously absorbed kinetic round. One of the holographic displays showed the reactor completely exposed, as well as a decent chunk of the helm’s armour being damaged. Shit. “The reactor’s exposed, Gol-'' The pilot got cut off by a particularly big piece of spall hitting him square in the neck, evidently not a very sharp piece given the relative lack of blood. I turned off the inertial dampeners and flicked the Phantom to get the pilot over to me, turning them back on afterwards. I moved his shirt out of my way with my foot, still focusing on evasive maneuvers, to assess his wounds. I’m not a medical professional, but that's definitely a crushed windpipe.
Xavier’s POV
Out of nowhere, explosive mines started teleporting in front of the fighters going after Goliath. I banked hard to the right as the mines started flashing and following random fighters, exploding after a couple of seconds. The mines could not keep up with the maneuverability of any of the fighters, however, and detonated mostly harmlessly without doing significant damage to anyone. “The hell was that?” a pilot from an unknown fighter stated, confusion evident in his voice. “Looks like some sort of invisible minef-'' William got cut off by the same pilot. “Shit! There’s more of them!” I quickly looked in front of me and saw a flashing mine approaching me directly.
I cut off the comms chatter from my mind as I focused on dodging this mine. I had reacted late to the mine and was barely within its explosive radius when it went off, damaging the wings of the fighter noticeably, embedding a shard of metal into the cockpit. The explosion scrambled my comms for a moment, filling the fighter’s speakers with static before slowly recovering. High command had commandeered William’s job, so he jumped straight to my fighter’s comms without hesitation. “Holding up, MIRV?”
“One of those invisible mines detonated early before I could get away in time. The wings are damaged, but critical functions are unharmed.” I responded in my monotone voice. He requested access to the cameras on the fighter’s hull, so I allowed him to view the battle from my point of view. Seeing no obvious threats, I steadied the fighter and looked over at Goliath’s ship, then focused my viewpoint elsewhere as I noticed a… storm of energy? rapidly approaching the ship. Zooming in with one of the cameras, it revealed the unknown energy to be concentrated into spherical formations, the wall of energy spheres avoiding his ship and splitting off to intercept munitions coming from both the fighters and the docked fleet, seemingly having a mind of their own.
Immediately afterwards, the fleet’s projectiles had started getting close to Goliath. I chipped in all I could and fired all of the remaining missiles I had on the fighter, already getting a solid lock onto his ship. Goliath’s ship had started maneuvering through the wall of gunfire, avoiding the vast majority of projectiles with seemingly impossible maneuvers of a ship that size. “I’m starting to get a feeling that we shouldn’t get on Goliath’s bad side, William.” “You don’t say…” He responded slowly. My missiles had started to close in on Goliath’s ship before some of the spheres of unknown energy redirected themselves towards them, blowing them up instantly, sacrificing themselves on contact in a spectacular explosion. The spheres of energy seemingly materialized in the middle of space right afterwards. Another one of Goliath’s tricks, I suppose.
Comms chatter from both the fighters and the fleet were amazed at the durability of Goliath’s ship, tanking hits from plasma cannons and railguns with little immediate damage, though the damage was gradually wearing down the ship regardless. A massive explosion happened right as one of the projectiles hit somewhere on the ship, with signs of decompression and a chain of exposed crewmembers holding onto the ship for a moment, before the pilot maneuvered Goliath’s ship to catch the exposed humans. Out of nowhere, an unknown fighter pilot shouted through their microphone, panic evident in his voice. “AVOID THE SPHERES! I REPEAT, AVOID THE SPH-” Static cut him off as a fighter, seemingly belonging to the pilot in question, got hit with multiple of the energy spheres at once, causing an explosion and ripping the fighter apart in multiple pieces.
It was then that I noticed there were some coming directly for me. That’s… not good.
William’s voice blared through the speakers, panic evident in his voice as I concentrated on avoiding the strange spheres of energy. Ducking and weaving the fighter all over the place, my blood rushed from one side and part of my body to the other, barely holding onto consciousness at times as I fought the control stick for the sake of my life. The maneuverability of the spheres were greater, but I was able to shake most of them off, with them heading towards other targets. One of the particularly stubborn spheres continued chasing me down despite my maneuvers, steadily getting closer and closer, until finally, it hit me.
The wings ripped straight off and one of the engines exploded immediately, the other one automatically shutting off before the electrical systems of the fighter seemingly got completely disabled. Spall from the shredded engine entered the cockpit, showering my suit with metal shards. I grunted in pain as I felt a particularly large piece of spall cut through the suit’s armour and embed itself into my leg. The rest of the body would be fine, but would definitely add to the bruises Goliath caused earlier.
Carefully, I leaned over to open a hatch to a hidden compartment and revealed the emergency supplies, revealing an emergency oxygen supply and first aid kit, among other things. I grabbed the first aid kit and listened for a few seconds, revealing that the fighter wasn’t losing air. Good. I carefully patched up the leg wound as best I could, grunting as I pulled out the metal fragment. Afterwards, I stared out a window of sorts and watched Goliath’s ship continuing to dodge projectiles and tank shots that would cripple a capital ship with minimal damage, a veritable dance between life and death. I can only hope Goliath figures out how to give me that message…
Goliath’s POV
Grabbing a knife from one of the helm’s hidden weapon compartments, I continued ducking and weaving with the Phantom, waiting for a relative ease in the onslaught of death coming our way. Once that relative safety had arrived, I maneuvered the ship to ensure the least hit areas would take the brunt of the punishment while I focused on the pilot. I quickly leaned over the pilot and carefully cut the base of his neck, and shoved a metal straw into the cut I’d created. The cut wasn’t perfect, with the pilot bleeding significantly out of his neck, but he’d be able to breathe now. He can afford to lose more blood than air, and this was just to buy him time.
Drawing all of my focus onto the helm once again, I was too late to react to an incoming plasma shot, letting it directly hit the helm room. Spall showered everywhere as the armour barely held on, a large dent visible to the right of the viewport, my visor cracking noticeably. At this point, the Dooms were no longer in any place to support us, retiring to the rest of the phase fleet for repairs. The Harbingers continued to support us, despite firmly not being combat-ready anymore. The technicians had reported they’d made progress on fixing the phase coils as well. Finally, some good news.
“Goliath, the mote attractors are at their limit! We’ll have to shut the-” I cut off the tactical officer on the Xenorphica. “Keep them online, ignore the costs.” I responded slowly, not breaking my focus from maneuvering through the swarm of projectiles. “We have no clue how they’ll react! We need to-” A large explosion blasted one of the engines, mangling the nozzle entirely, and I cut the tactical officer’s voice from my focus as I desperately tried to get used to the engine damage. A few moments later, I yelled at the tactical officer on Xenorphica. “Damn the fucking costs! We won’t get out of here alive if you don’t keep them running!”
Seconds passed with no response, when a large kinetic round directly hit the engines, completely disabling thrust vectoring on that engine and locking it at a bad angle. The Phantom started getting hit more and more, with loud ringing going constantly and especially loud creaking and groaning from critically low structural integrity. A moment passed, and several massive explosions ringed through the fleet’s global comms, the audio very staticy from the sheer noise. A few moments later, I noticed the Xenorphica had stopped sending motes our way, and reported as being significantly damaged. The Harbingers had also reported a total loss of combat effectiveness and returned to the fleet for repairs.
We were on our own, and on a dread-inducing time limit.
Everyone in the Phantom worked as much as they physically could on repairing the phase coils, completely disregarding hull and other subsystem repairs. The exposed reactor had taken quite a beating at this point, and it was honestly amazing it was still up and running. The armour all around the ship had been almost totally compromised, and enemy munitions were tearing up the hull, depressurization warnings blaring nearly everywhere there could be an atmosphere to maintain. A surface laser had completely cut off an entire section of what little armour remained on the Phantom, leaving marines hanging onto the ship for their lives, which I once again flicked the ship their way to catch them.
“Goliath, we’re running out of time! We’re gonna have to do something!” One of the marines I rescued from earlier had shouted out towards me, as the river of motes once pouring out of the Xenorphica was rapidly dwindling. Moments passed, with more parts of the hull being ripped out by munitions hitting the ship. A large kinetic round hit the helm directly, showering me with shrapnel as the armour amazingly barely held on once again, making me bleed in multiple locations despite the heavy plating installed on my full-body suit. Once the motes were depleted, I waited a few more seconds, the crew visibly panicking despite their training. Keeping my cool, I split my attention between the wall of certain death rapidly approaching us and the status of the phase coils. I saw the hull directly in front of me flicker repeatedly, and I practically punched the console to force the phantom into P-space.
A brief delay, and the Phantom dived into P-space, the wall of death rapidly approaching due to time dilation phasing right through us. Phase cloak online, the intercom struggled getting out, the audio quality significantly worse from battle damage to the electric grid of the Phantom. The silence was deafening in the Phantom, and the fleet as a whole, as I coaxed the Phantom’s thrusters to limp the ship back to my fleet.
I'm not going to question how we survived that.
^{i got told i did the descriptions for the space battle stuff well, but i wanna hear what yall think about how i did}

Hey there, so I very recently developed a sophisticated theory for the very likely inspirational origin of the fundamental mechanics behind the lore of One Piece, and it appears to allow explaining a large abundance of themes and elements that are showcased. Though because I technically haven't really been that closely following One Piece, and because I'm quite late into it to theorize about it while others already have done a whole lot of that, I'd like to present it, explain it using several references for the logically inferred connections, and then see based on feedback what of it may still be new, because if some of it is, then I guess people here would be quite interested in it.
I'll be going over my deduction process mostly in chronological order, which though already includes the updating of some of my earlier interpretations with parts that come later, but here we go:
Regarding the concept of devil fruits in One Piece, an idea sparked up, namely that maybe they may be inspired by the name and characteristics of the passion fruit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_fruit_(fruit))

The passion fruit (Portuguese: maracujá and Spanish: maracuyá, both from the Tupi mara kuya "fruit that serves itself" or "food in a cuia") is the fruit of a number of plants in the genus Passiflora.[1][2]

The fruits- by their name - "serve themselves", feed themselves. So in a sense, they (or rather the passions or desires associated to them in One Piece) "consume the person that eats them, so that these persons develop the fruit's associated passion or desire". This leads to the devil (or passion) fruits' attributed passions to generally fit to the (clothing) styles and personalities of the people that ate them. And then artistic freedom is taken from there for how the passions are physically expressed in attacks or generally applications of the abilities, with exaggerations that are common in manga or anime.

Passion fruits are round or oval, and range from a width of 1.5 to 3 inches (3.81 to 7.62 centimetres).[1] They can be yellow, red, purple, and green.[1]

And they exist in a variety of colours and kinds, which fits, too.
Shortly after trying to check for if this potential logical connection can be established further, I was wondering if this potential connection or inspiration has come up already (though maybe Oda has made it public by now, too), and while I didn't find much, there was at least 1 (rather recent, actually) video by someone else that seemed to point at a connection between these things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iM7v6eJQco
However, there's also those artificially created devil fruits (SMILEs) with deficiencies seen at Wa no Kuni, which only superficially appear to satisfy people's desires for happiness. Though I could also see Vegapunk or someone possibly creating them as means of making it easier for people to develop certain strong passions, for chosen passions.
I guess since one can only have 1 true passion, people are in the anime said to die (normally) if they try to eat more than 1 such fruit that forces a passion onto them. And for these fruits to be called devil fruits, I thought that this may be due to these devil fruits' passions putting themselves into the center of attention and behavioral guideline for their user in a sense, and hence could risk a person only anymore focusing on that passion, being "taken in" by it and ignoring everything else, but then I found out that apparently there's a different reason for why they are called that or viewed in this way, in relation to what perspective a personified evolution may have on these desire or passion based unnatural changes to creatures, namely to see their consumption as sins.
So for example, Blackbeard's (devil fruit consumption based) passion then should be closely related to (insaturable) greed, with the physical representation of that being a power alike the inward pulling property of black holes (that are in well-known manner said to allow nothing to leave them, once consumed). And this ability (maybe as the only one) apparently even includes taking and stealing others' passions (and hence their devil fruit powers, which I guess makes Blackbeard the collector of sins), but I wonder if there may be a restriction to it, namely to only allow stealing devil-fruit-like powers of people that ate a devil fruit in order to develop their unique skills and passion (which may be the case for Whitebeard whose power was stolen), but it might not work for the abilities that people developed that have passions true to their actual original personality, which I'll get to shortly.
Devil fruits should represent kind of an artificial external booster for otherwise too unambitious, unmotivated people, so that they develop a passion even when it doesn't originate from themselves already, whereas some (more genuinely passionate) people appear to be able to develop such abilities without those fruits just as much, and the price for not having to have developed such passion by oneself (for if one nonetheless would want to develop a strong character trait related passion, and strive to dominate the world in the expressed skill of that passion, like how at least many of the straw-hats say they want to do) is that by eating the passion-(giving)-fruit, they lose the ability to swim, become weak in water and at contact with those sea prism stones (though before seeing the reference to evolution explaining why that is, I wasn't sure why it'd be this weakness specifically, but I figured that it may just be for the reason that since the setting of the whole world is a huge archipelago with islands everywhere, in order to be able to spread their dominance in what individuals are passionate about, they have to move a lot across the sea, hence putting them then at especial danger).
For Nico Robin, I think one can explain the origin of her ability similarly, but in order to make that more clear, I think one has to go more to the beginnings or the roots of when she appears, namely what she mostly was intended to use her ability for, and what she also used her ability for (rather than making body parts grow in all kinds of places for attacks), namely to be an extremely curious, information-seeking person (among many on the island that she comes from) that wants to know everything about the history of the world (which makes sense since she in her past lived on that island of historians with huge libraries full of books to learn about history from), and so she was later (when she worked for Crocodile) because of that ability very useful to work as spy, since she could make her ears and eyes spawn on remote surfaces to hear and see what other people would say, write, or observe whatever happens behind walls.
And in the case of Doflamingo, it helps explaining his situation with a passion-based explanation approach, too, because he's a control-freak (that played people like marionettes, restricting their freedom to make own choices or to do what they want, similar to keeping a bird in a cage, fitting to his name and his clothes that are full of feathers), which is expressed with the concept of a bird cage and he surely doesn't just by chance happen to cast a huge bird cage over all of Dressrosa (which as island looks like a bird nest).
Regarding Zoro, he's kind of an exception or 1 of probably only few people that developed a passion on their own, without the need for help from a devil fruit in order to do so (though I wonder how it is in the case of the upcoming Dr. Vegapunk in that regard). After all, Zoro seems to be able to develop skills that are like and rival the magical skills that otherwise only devil fruit consumers can have or reach. And so this (together with other evidence) leads me to conclude that in principle, any person in One Piece could gain such powers if only they can bring up the will-power and have a specific behavioral passion to apply that to. And so people technically wouldn't rely on these devil fruits at all, if it weren't for lack of motivation otherwise, or for maybe having been made to believe that the fruits are necessary, or that people in general tend too much to "take the easy path" (and not go for their passion otherwise, namely if they think others would have it easier, making them think they couldn't compete and hence shouldn't even try to become the best at "their thing", i.e. the specific skill with which a passion would be expressed). Zoro seems to feel strongly about a character trait alike determination, self-control (which is what people at martial arts dojos learn), or rather strength of character (by which he gains physical strength to represent that).
Zoro's initial weakness (though I'm not sure how much of that is still left) was to find the right direction. He'd repeatedly get lost (and in fact, in Wa no Kuni, he still gets lost), but I'm not quite sure how that (surely in some form) ought to be translated to him symbolizing the development of strength in character (maybe by integrity, staying on a set path). Though maybe he doesn't always quite know where or what to apply his strength to. He needed guidance from the others to know where to apply it. I guess Mihawk Dulacre - in contrast to Zoro - in a sense has the accuracy (for fighting and where to go) that Zoro lacks (and that he lacked in their fight long ago), and I suppose the physical expressions of those 2 concepts, strength and accuracy are competing.
And I think the above, more generalized and from devil-fruit-dependency freed up theory can also help explain why those many Haki abilities exist that the more advanced Marine soldiers (among others) are able to use (without having eaten devil fruits to do so, for which otherwise such fruits would have to exist in masses anyway) probably as part of the abilities that the really passionate soldiers can develop over time.
For Sanji, the situation is similar, but not quite the same, I think. After all, while he didn't eat a devil fruit, he (alongside his siblings in his backstory) got a serum injected that was meant to have the effect of genetically changing him to become a kind of super-human due to his father's intent to make a perfect soldier of his kids, with Sanji failing to do so and disappointing him, probably because it was too far from his actual passion which is (more generally) serving others out of love, and Sanji does so by cooking for others (and after all, "love goes through the stomach", and so this phrase may connect those 2 things), or more generally by being a chef, and that being what his skills and attacks are all derived from.
So the devil fruit abilities are more physical representations of strongly developed character traits, passions, desires. And I guess in some cases, the way in how those are connected with each other, when it's not as clear (like with the rock-star Brook being a ghost), common expressions, phrases that serve as metaphors for translating between physical traits and character traits are used. Devil fruit powers do in a way represent the true desires of people, but the means by which people try to achieve what they desire can make their desires harder to see from the outside.
So if Brook truly seems to be about health, youth, longevity, avoiding painful body decay to death, especially with that reference to the whale waiting for him, making him want to live longer to be able to meet the whale, especially fitting since whales normally live long, too, the way Brook may have thought of building on that desire for essentially immortality could be by turning into a legendary rock-star to metaphorically obtain an "immortal soul" that will still live after his death due to people remembering him alike Elvis Presley).
There probably is a bunch of rather irrelevant people with devil fruit powers where it'd be harder to find good explanations based on this theory to make sense of them, but for the important, more prominent and in the story involved ones, there should be interpretations of that kind to find, to make sense of their abilities. But it'd be interesting then to go through the variety of powerful characters with unique abilities to try to derive (or e.g. via cliché phrases reverse-engineer) their deepest passions from that and likely also from their looks, which tends to fit to that.
So I think regarding the devil fruits, I've pretty much figured their role out by now, though while not all details about them, surely the central idea behind them.
Also, Smoker's ability is literally to turn into smoke, and he clearly desires smoking a lot (and this seems to be 1 piece of evidence among multiple others that either he was able to develop this ability without a devil fruit, or that even the strong enough desire of 1 person can be sufficient to spawn a devil fruit). And while one could wonder about the direction of causality there, namely for which characteristic came first or had to come first, the ability from a (hypothetical) devil fruit to then shape his behavior or preferences, or the other way around, I think it's now clear that it's the other way around.
Regarding the (I think) 3 different kinds of devil fruits that exist and by which they are categorized, I'm not sure yet what further meaning to their categorization there may be, but that probably either is more the result of Oda having had to bring some order into the very diverse set of the kinds of passions people can have (and then creative abilities relating to them), or maybe if one had an overview of the behavior traits that many devil fruit powers relate to, and if one were to sort the behavior traits according to the categorization of the physical abilities associated to them, one might find a pattern there (but I don't think it's as simple as e.g. a categorization based on if a behavioral trait is either morally good, grey, or strictly bad, because then it'd be easier noticeable which characters have what kind of personality, just based on seeing how they can use their ability).
Early on, also as part of Crocodile's members, there's that woman, Miss Valentine, that then probably is all about her weight (either with or without help from a devil fruit), desires a certain body weight or wants to keep it under control (and her name already suggests that it may be so such that she's attractive for someone to have at least a Valentine's day with, or someone to have a personal relationship with), since she can change her weight between that of a feather or the weight of a mountain or so, and that allows her to adjust her weight to whatever her liking is.
And Luffy's grandfather literally is a to the marine submissive, obedient (lap-)dog, based on his ability, so his main trait that he embodies probably is loyalty (which of course is well-placed among the marine for designing the world setting)
I suppose 1 of the marine admirals, namely Aokiji must really be wanting to come across as cool (and maybe that's also why he's more of a black person, probably going by stereotypes) or having such impression on others, and so cool even that he can cast ice.
Then the other one that currently leads the marine has the hottest angry temper, being a lava-spewing volcano not by chance.
And then the final one of the 3 at the top probably must arrogantly be thinking he's literally god, or as essential, authoritative to the world as the sun, with his ability being about light-ray attacks and being fast as light.
Notice also how the only admiral that's literally more "down to earth", reasonable, rather than lifted up or detached from reality or the grounds of common sense is the blind one, whose ability is to manipulate gravitation, which fits into my theory for the origin of the abilities coming from characters' main traits (either with devil fruit help or without), too.
And then, since the concept expands even beyond just humans, we also have the reindeer Chopper that wanted to be accepted, acknowledged, respected by humans, and he probably had such passionate motivation for that due to having been hunted specifically by them. Chopper surely thought he had to be a human for that himself, and so he desired that the most and it came true for him.
I think overall, the world of One Piece is a world of the competition or battle among the deepest passions and desires, repeatedly emerging in individuals representing them (maybe in 800 year cycles or so).
If One Piece is a world in which desires are battling each other, and the strongest desires win, then some of the desires represented in Luffy's crew should be:
Acceptance (Chopper; and the means by which to be accepted is by becoming a great doctor to help people and earn it that way; he has problems with being given credit when maybe he doesn't feel so much that he earned it)
Love (Sanji; with the means for expressing that being cooking for others, especially Nami and Robin, and referenced at the wedding at Whole Cake Island)
Immortality (Brook; earning that via the joy he brings to people with his music)
Historical Understanding (Nico Robin; as historian and archeologist)
Ingenuity (Franky; via all the robots and technological creations)
Bravery (Ussop; starting out as weakly developed sniper character so he can be at safe distance, but over time becoming more brave; and he used lies rather than having the courage to be honest, to get out of dangerous situations)
Strength (Zoro; by practicing his swordsman-ship)
Commonwealth (Nami; starting as treasure hunter to obtain wealth for the people, and is under the oppression of literal (loan-)sharks on her island at the cost to the common people, but she later specialized in weather prediction, understanding, and control, and wanting to draw a map of the world)
Equality/Respect (Jinbe; he starts out at Big Mom's island, and Big Mom liked to gather a wide variety of species and diverse kinds of people there, so it should be about mutual respectful treatment between species, different kinds of people, especially with fishmen having been oppressed)
Friendship (Luffy; if one understands friendship as a bond, then Luffy literally is or represents a bond that encompasses the friends, people around him, and a bond that can stretch further and further, and therefore it's physically represented by the gum-gum-fruit; one can see scenes often where he pulls his arms out to reach out to his comrades when they're in danger, even when he has to jump into the sea for it)
And so one reasonably could view the One Piece main characters as embodiments of very positive inner-most desires, forming a crew to change the world for the better together.
It's no surprise that Dragon is Luffy's father, leading the revolutionaries (and surely having strong desire for revolution, and having obtained his storm related powers that way, allowing him to revolutionize the world by affecting the behavior of the sea which his enemies, the marine, strongly relies on).
I feel like (blood-like red-haired) Shanks must be about willingness of making personal sacrifices (to achieve greater good). It's demonstrated in the 1st main thing he does, namely to save the young kid Luffy, losing his arm in the process, when the huge sea-snake bites off his arm (but he also allowed rude people at the bar to mess with him without trying to defend himself, just laughing it off).
Maybe (though I'm not quite sure in this case) Whitebeard's a "conservative guy" or plays such a role, representing an old order.
I guess then the role that Gol D. Roger played was (mainly) to initiate the whole competition, giving people the belief that they could strive for their passions, desires to encompass the whole world (rather than staying restrained to just their island). I guess what Gol D. Roger was the 1st at in proving, is that one could at all travel to all islands of the world, and confirmed that for others to reassure them that they could in principle (if they tried enough) dominate world-wide in their ambitions, passions. I'm not entirely sure if there's a final island. After all, apparently islands also can simply be eradicated, and so such an island may be gone already anyway. However, I think there's good reason to believe that to find even the last, final island is specifically for the reason important to make sure that when global friendship is meant to be achieved, not a single island (with its people) is left out, and that might even be all to it. And this may then imply that in fact there could be no 4th red poneglyph at all, rather than it having been lost or never found, with the message being spread about it existing just being a believable enough elaborate trick - set up by Gol D. Roger - and by which to make as many pirate groups as possible try to venture out to the sea (thinking that with possession of the last one, they know where the cross from connecting the 4 red poneglyphs on the map of the world meets to indicate the location of Gol D. Roger's treasure) and in the process of that come to know about all other islands, the people living there and their culture, to know each other better, and to keep on sailing until they have been to every island (without ever finding the 4th one, because it doesn't exist) without exception, by which Gol D. Roger may have intended the world community to become One Piece.
And so if Gol D. Roger was the king of the pirates before Luffy and aimed for that for the same reason, same passion, and may have even had the very same fruit power (though possibly a different flavor, kind would also be thinkable for something equivalent), and if Gol D. Roger also had to struggle a whole lot to get there (just as Luffy is collecting scars, wounds along the journey), then that could be why Roger in the end (as costs for all of that) anyway didn't have much longer to live anymore and so his execution wasn't such a big deal to him personally (just like it seems to be), given that he knew what he achieved, namely great friendship across the globe that should at least hold out for longer, and surpass his time. However, since in the case of the straw-hats, Oda surely doesn't want to just repeat that temporary peace that turns into a tragedy because it wasn't able to last for long, which surely Oda would be aware of, it then becomes an interesting question to ask specifically if someone alike Brook was part of Roger's crew back then or not, and I think there wasn't, because that may have been a critical missing piece to make global peace or friendship last indefinitely, with the motive of immortality being part of the crew and able to uphold memories of that bonding indefinitely via music.
And I think in exactly the above context, I maybe can now also make more sense of Whitebeard with his tremor-tremor fruit. Given that he ruled over the sea in the past, I think that given how he applies his fruit's power at the battle against the marine headquarter, namely by massively shaking up the entire sea around it, threatening the island, his ruling probably represents the rough sea, which previously had prevented people from dreaming about or trying to have larger-scale goals that'd encompass the whole world, rather than just their individual islands (until Roger later had that kind of deal or talk with Whitebeard, wanting to change that up, and that might be why they - or the competing motives they represent - probably had to meet). But for that, I guess Roger had to, and wanted to borrow Momonosuke's father Oden, to be able to find the final island.
Generally speaking though, surely Oda didn't start out thinking about passion fruits but that must've been a secondary (or later) element to add into the world of One Piece. It surely started out by him conceptualizing a world about people's competing desires, ambitions, passions, and when he was doing research about that, he probably stumbled over the passion fruit, was intrigued by it and thought he just had to incorporate them in some way and quickly found a fitting way in how he could do that. The fact that other people are able to develop insane abilities without devil fruits indicates that surely, the One Piece in principle also could've been done without those fruits (for the purpose of the important parts, themes to be conveyed, at least, though clearly the devil fruits ended up shaping the the implementation of the dynamic of the evolving story-line).
And Belami surely has those high jumps allowing spring legs because of there having existed either further or less far in the past the strong desire to reach Skypiea (though maybe just for the alleged treasure there) or the sky itself by at least some of the population there, spawning a devil fruit that allows to at least jump very high (and possibly reach it eventually with enough training).
https://gamerant.com/one-piece-how-devil-fruits-creation-explained/

Later on, in Punk Hazard, the birth of a Devil Fruit was witnessed for the first time with the Sara Sara no Mi, Model: Axolotl.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl

Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate limbs, gills and parts of their eyes and brains.[8] Notably, their ability to regenerate declines with age, but it does not disappear. Axolotls keep modestly growing throughout their life and some consider this trait to be a direct contributor to their regenerative abilities.[9]

So based on my explanation theory's approach, I'd interpret this event such that at Punk Hazard (and probably the Punk part also is related to the application of technology, science, but in hazardous ways), the first time (or again) a strong desire was birthed, namely by the bad treatment of all those kids present on the island that grew to over-sizes during experiments where they tried to create giant humans to use them for their armies, with the experimented on kids suffering all the side-effects from that, and the Axolotl clearly is about body regeneration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyG3b3mCOXc And I guess as one can see e.g. in here, in the case of the Axolotl devil fruit, that slime monster surely must've been 1 of the over-grown, experimented on kids, and - based on appearance - probably the one where things went the worst, making it develop the strongest desire to regenerate their body back to normal at that point, making the nearby apple turn into the devil fruit. Also, while passion fruits should be part of the inspiration for using fruits as alternative means (besides genuine passions) to obtain passions (and associated abilities, possibly even with only the desire for the latter, and thereby cheating the natural intended major desire-based requirement which consequently conceivably could also for the user lead to disconnection between the fruit's power and what its associated desire is meant to be, meaning that there's less of an assurance about how they'll use it, since it isn't necessarily tied to their needs, allowing for abuse of the powers in unintended ways), devil fruits aren't restricted to passion-fruits in One Piece.
​

In Dressrosa, the rebirth cycle of these fruits was explained to the fans and now, in the Egghead Island arc, Oda has finally revealed the answer to how these Devil Fruits came into existence. According to Dr. Vegapunk, Devil Fruits come into existence through imagination or a want for something.

I swear I had not long ago figured that out on my own (and given the many other deductions, that may be more understandable, especially due to the extension of the concept to not rely on the fruits).

Ever since the very beginning of the story, it has been established that Devil Fruit users cannot swim. By eating these Devil Fruits, people gain tremendous amounts of power, depending on what kind of fruit they eat, however, they also lose something, and that is their ability to swim. For pirates who spent their entire lives on the seas, losing this ability is quite a massive deal.

And I independently came to the same conclusion as above.

As such, he brands them to be an unnatural way for evolution. Evidently, this goes against the laws of nature, and the sea, being one of the manifestations of mother nature, hates Devil Fruit users for it.

However, that is an extension of the concept that I hadn't come to think of yet, but it makes sense, given the sea being the (according to the best knowledge of science currently) origin of life, if one were to view those devil fruit powers from an evolutionary perspective, and them going against or cheating natural laws.

It isn't known how exactly the desire that people have manifests into these Devil Fruits, whether or not these fruits always existed and which fruit was the very first one to exist.

The first devil fruits should have arisen among the ancient animal species millions or even billions of years ago (and I mean at Kaido's island, many of them have dinosaur-related devil fruits, and surely animal species back then fleeing from predators had strong desires to be such predator themselves, possibly also alike Chopper, by wanting to be accepted, and having to be like the predator species for that). And the desire just needs to be massive enough, surely, and probably shared among enough people (but the Axolotl devil fruit case indicates that maybe the desire of just 1 creature can at least in certain cases be enough), and if multiple people with a shared desire are needed, then they may all have to be around the same place and time, not distributed sporadically, and maybe the specific cause for the desire must be the same.
The devil fruits likely are also the cause of why sea-monsters exist and are so large and why fish-people exist, with both coming from strong enough aggregations of desires with respect to their predators, allowing the existence of huge sea monsters that look like various animal species that are predators of sea life (such as humans, making fish-people exist, but also sea monsters alike cats, dogs, bears, lions, alligators, and so on). I guess the way Oda derived what the One Piece world should be like comes from thinking about how such a world naturally could have developed, starting at the very beginning of evolution on the planet. All this should also allow to reverse-engineer what historical desires must have existed for the creation of certain devil-fruits, except that even if one knows their basic powers, it can still be hard to figure out how they're connected to a specific desire.
Also, I suppose that once there's no more desires left to be formed, so when everyone's strongest desires are satisfied, it means the end of devil fruits, but not necessarily devil-fruit-like, from genuine passions emerging abilities.
https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Raijin_Island I suppose that also for whoever lives on that Raijin Island may (per desire) produce gum-gum-like devil fruits naturally (but that doesn't necessarily equate to them coming from the same kind of desire, passion, expression of strong behavioral trait), namely for safety from the lightning. And so it may suffice to see major general threats of islands to derive the existence of kinds of devil fruits.
I guess I have another good "upper bound" for the requirements for the natural emergence of a devil fruit, namely The size of the crew that Brook had when they (as far as I remember) all died to the poison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXAtu-Dei_o . That must've already even quite quickly (though possibly over some weeks of them sailing there without finding any place) created the devil fruit, with just Brook having been able to take it and survive (as spirit). And this may explain (what near the end in the video Brook is wondering or asking about, namely) why Brook was the last one to die. He probably ate it earlier already and so it spawned at some point prior to that last song. It probably made him somewhat physically stronger than the others. They also put a clear reference in there about that young whale, for the desire to not die before meeting the whale again. However, actually it could be that this devil fruit only spawned near the very end, when they zoom the camera out (to not quite see him taking a bite, possibly), and he just ended up being the last one to die and is chosen that way, but if someone else had been the last, then it'd been them, and I guess if that's a principle that applies generally, then the physically strongest or smartest, generally most fit ones (or also lucky or greedy, egoistic ones) would be rewarded in such pseudo-evolutionary process based on devil fruits being granted.
And generally speaking, I think if one wants to figure out the lore or over-arching theme, one likely is better going to find that in the earlier episodes where things were more on point, clear, less diluted by advertisement, filler episodes, or tangents. Authors tend to hide their key ideas especially to be subtly hinted at in the beginning, so that once the readers finally realize it near the end, they can go back and enjoy it another time but with a more complete experience of all of it.
And it makes sense that the devil fruit power for revolution (possessed by Dragon who's apparently the son of a former admiral or so, meaning he lived very close to the marine headquarters) emerged at or close to the marine headquarters because given the world setting with respect to the role the marine plays in it, due to the marine oppressing people, such oppression would have existed the longest and the strongest the closest to the marine headquarters, and I guess the means by which revolution was meant to be physically enabled was strong storms to affect the sea, which the marine relies on.
I think there surely is a devil-fruit related reason for the elephant Zunesha being so large, and I think it may come from the animals from an african-like savanna region having wanted to flee from humans, in particular the elephants that are known to have compassion and want to not only save themselves but the others among them, too, and so the means by which they're meant to be enabled to do that could be for that elephant to grow large enough to be essentially an own island that can move around and on which the others can live on. And so that elephant may actually represent the very fundamental concept of Compassion (which could be a big deal because that's another important trait that should fit well into the traits represented by the straw-hats). Though if the Red Line has been destroyed in the past, leading to a great flood and putting the Minks into danger, then it could also have come from the desire to save them.
​

The X-shaped scar on Luffy's chest was caused by Admiral Akainu during the Marineford War arc and was a result of Jinbe protecting Luffy.

The anger of the admiral (or great anger in general) is what hurt Luffy greatly, and is what hurts friendship greatly, in general. And given how much lack of friendship there overall is in the world of One Piece, it makes sense that Luffy got scars all over his body upon encounters of more and more places in their world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQsWIaUmQNM .
And I think viewing it from such a perspective may also help allowing to explain that scene where Zoro takes in the bubble of pain from Luffy's wounds when Kuma extracts it from Luffy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAtZoIFW2Uw . Given Luffy standing for friendship, if he'd seen Zoro do that, he'd not wanted others to have to do that for him, and he'd rather tried to carry that weight on his own shoulders, but Zoro knows he should rather take it because he's more suited for enduring it due to his Strength.

I was thinking about an Aberrant Mind sorcerer background while scouring the Internet for Great Old One info and came across Gol-Goroth, a GOO concept originally thought up by Robert Howard (author of CONAN). There's almost no info on Gol-Goroth, Google it and see. So I rubbed some brain cells together and fleshed it out so now I think it can be used as both an origin story for Aberrant Mind sorcerers or a GOO warlock patron. I'd treat the following info in-game as extremely esoteric. Secret and mysterious, the best kind of spooky ominous Great Old One.
Also, this is just a C&P from a character sheet, I haven't really edited it. The first paragraph is a rehash of what I found online. Hopefully you'll read my mad scribblings and come up with something far better!
************************
Great Old One: Gol-Goroth
(aka “The Forgotten Old One”, “The God of The Black Stone”, “Dark God of Bal-Sagoth”)
Also known as the “Forgotten Old One”, and “The God of The Black Stone”. Gol-Goroth had cults dedicated to it across the broad cosmos before Toril had cooled from it’s fiery origins, its obscure cults even predating the Netheril in ancient Jhaamdath. There is not much known about this being, but what is known is that it occasionally appears as a “gigantic, black scaled toad-like creature” with an “impossibly malevolent glare”, or a similar “tentacled, scaled, bat-winged entity”. Most often its form is merely a figment, for it often assumes the image of what it’s unfortunate audience fears most. Some say it still dwells under the volcanic islands south of Zakhara. Others claim that it lingers in the Far Realm but is bound to the mortal realm by the elusive Black Stones. “Nothing is assured but this, Gol-Goroth possesses magical prowess outside that of the most twisted of imaginations, and a grand scheme never to be shared…”
Foes/Enemies/Rivals: Dagon, Ghaunadaur, Tsathoggua, Zurguth, Shothotugg, Piscaethces, Dendar, Y’chak, Kezef, Atropus, Zargon, and any of the parties that ambushed him and fractured The Black Stone, using it’s vast eldritch power to penetrate the mortal world from the infinity of the Far Realm.
Allies: Borem (former), Arambar (former), Yog-Sothoth, frequently Nyarlathotep and Hadar, and surprisingly on occasion Shar, Tyr, Mystra, and Asgorath.
Primary Goals: reconstruct The Black Stone, enact revenge upon those who betrayed The Covenant and shattered The Black Stone, breaching the Infinite Layers of the Far Realm for the Prime Material Plane. The offending entities from the Far Realm that inadvertently seeded the Material Plane with shards of The Black Stone, thus greatly accelerating the proliferation of psychic, psionic, and other eldritch power and entities, are Gol-Goroth’s most dire foes and woe to those who stand between Gol-Goroth and his revenge.
Gol-Goroth is as close to a Neutral entity as one is likely to find possessing any power or authority in the hierarchy of the Far Realm. Gol-Goroth is The God of The Black Stone, that which barred entry from the Far Realm to the rest of the planes. Legends say that various entities help in maintaining the sanctity of the Realms. Gol-Goroth’s duty was the maintenance of the Far Realm and it’s infinite layers. The Black Stone acted like a damn, a barrier holding back the flow of aberrant things. Aeons ago, Gol-Goroth was betrayed, ambushed, and The Black Stone was damaged, splintered, scattering it’s fragments across the other Planes. Before Gol-Goroth could recover Its wits the damn was breached, the Far Realm penetrated into the other realms, violating the Material Planes. The Far Realm is always in a state of flux and thus requires a deft, delicate hand to keep all powers and influential entities in balance and perfect opposition. Gol-Goroth's use of The Black Stone made this possible. What is said of Gol-Goroth is true, It is possessed of sorcerous and psychic prowess beyond that which the most twisted imagination would ever hope or even dream for, and thus his endeavor was to preserve The Black Stone, thus maintaining the sanctity of the Far Realm.
Someone had other plans, however. There were others who allied with Dagon, Ghaunadaur, Tsathoggua, Dendar and Piscaethces to strike Gol-Goroth where they thought It weakest and then effect their escape. Most assuredly Llolth, perhaps Bhaal, possibly Asmodeus or others. It was vulnerable, but not fallibly so, and thus Gol-Goroth survived to seek revenge.
To preserve what was left of The Black Stone.
To enact The Grand Scheme.
To quietly, covertly, and with the aide of Its servants, recover the lost fragments of The Black Stone.
To pursue those responsible for it’s violation.
Make no mistake, Gol-Goroth is not a good entity. It counts no celestial deities or even infernal powers as his friends. He puts no stock in love or honor, only trust and respect. Betray trust deserved, violate respect earned, breach a treaty without dire cause, and The God of The Black Stone will deliver revenge for the transgression.
The violation of the Material Planes cannot be undone, the breach of the barrier cannot be reversed. The effect of The Black Stone’s scattering is irreversible. Psionic abilities in the mortal worlds are a inevitable response to the Far Realm’s intrusion and thus will be allowed. The parties responsible, however… those entities will long suffer from Gol-Goroth’s retribution. Their plans will be undone, their goals torn to shreds, their hopes all for naught.

please don’t read if you haven’t finished the Banana Fish (anime) and Garden of Light.
also ignore my grammar it’s so late rn
the story of the “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is told by ash in the anime (ep. 13) as we all know. (side note: this all came to me at 4 in the morning and i’m currently sobbing) So, while watching the series initially a few years ago I didn’t fully understand the context of the story, but recently I was curious about what both the story by hemingway and the actual event would be like when compared to ash’s retelling and i just felt like i should mention them.
The Snows of Kilimanjaro vs. Ash
when hemingway was writing about harry, i felt like i saw a lot of ash in him, his wasted life, talents, harmful habits to the those around him, and even the internal conflicts he must have felt as he died. both resenting his life but also acknowledging some highlights where he makes an actual impact on those around him. when comparing harry’s final thoughts to ash, i feel like that must’ve been how ash felt when he made his decision to die well. a life filled with misery, wasted potential, and only harming the ones he wanted to love and protect.
additionally, when harry died, he died peacefully, going in his sleep and without much hassle or pain, simply dying from his preventable disease of gangrene. like harry ash could have very easily prevent his death and yet he chose not to, instead choosing to read eiji’s letter and reflect on his time with him (and possibly just living).
another thing i was really hyper focused on was the way that both harry and ash’s partners react to their deaths. the shock and disbelief that harry is dead, while only written, is one that is easily visualizable, a wife leanings over and praying her husband has a heart beat. though we don’t see eiji do that with ash’s corpse in GOL, we do see see him standing in the morgue, staring at ash’s corpse. i felt a sense of derealization coming from eiji at this point, almost as if he could not accept that ash simply accepted his death like that after everything that happened. I get a sense that both partners were sort of dumbfounded to find out that their partners died from a simple disease/injury that was completely treatable and could have saved them.
Leopard on Kilimanjaro vs. Ash
according to ash’s retelling, the leopard he heard about, died while going up the mountain, but maybe it was actually trying to run down as it knew the mountain was far too high up and too cold. he ponders if the leopard was actually searching for something in it’s last moments or running from something. while the obvious comparison is there, i did a little research on the leopard and found out that many researchers theorize that the leopard was simply dead/frozen after chasing after a goat that was also frozen near by (leopard and the goat were only 100m apart.) i keep imagining ash being that leopard, chasing after eiji and simply dying when he was unbelievably close to catching him. like despite the advantages the leopard had over the goat (physically anyway) he died due to its inability to defeat the height and cold environment). like the leopard, ash, who had practically every advantage in his life (defeated his “father figure”, exposed the drug that killed his brother and many more) while simply chasing after his goal of seeing eiji again, he still fell victim to his environment (meaning and endless gang drama). and ironically. despite not being caught, simply being the prey for the leopard killed that goat. eiji being ash’s goal, although he’s safe physically, returns to ash and his environment and as a result loses himself as a person in GOL. just being around the “predators” and in their environment places the prey in harms way.
something i think is kind of beautiful is the fact that the leopard and goat are frozen together and cannot be separated, at least in terms of how researchers pair them together. and although ash and eiji both “die” in a sense, they are also inseparable and intertwined forever in a way.

"Dick." "Huh? What, are we there?" "We've been here for six hours, man, we just haven't seen the car yet, and you haven't seen shit because you keep falling asleep." "Gimme a break, man, I was driving all night to get here." The two criminals were seated in a non-descript car, parked nearby the entrance to the main parking lot at Mt. Loyal University, charged with the details of a specific vehicle set to arrive at some point. The two were only armed with camera equipment, but it was enough to ID at a distance and that's what they were being paid to do. "Look, if this chick's as dangerous as they say, it'll help to be ready when she shows up. Try some of the coffee, they shouldn't be too cold." Dick looked at the two big cups from the morning hours before they showed up. "Dale, that stuff's probably frozen by now, let's just go get some fresh stuff." "We can't leave, idiot!" barked Dale, fitting of his canine species. They both were dogs, Dale a chihuahua and Dick a St. Bernard, with personalities to match. "Look, I'll go get some at that place down the block, come back here, and we can throw that stuff out." "Well then, go, come on, hurry up and get back, I don't want you sitting on a bench and falling asleep again." "I'm going, don't yell at me, man." Dick replied softly. "I'm NOT YELLING!" Dale yelled as the larger of the two got out of the car with another huge yawn to head off on his mission. The actual task they were seeing to was admittedly a dull one, but Dale liked to be alert at all times, especially when dealing with contract killers. About five minutes later, Dick had returned with two coffees, Dale opening the door for him. "Thanks. They had that hazelnut stuff you like, so I-" "Wait wait wait, hold that thought, I think that's our ticket." said the chihuahua, pointing a finger at the gate. Indeed, a white Oz Harper was pulling in and turning their way to find a spot. Dale squawked 'Hide!' and pulled the seat lock, falling backwards with it quickly. Dick just watched the car go by and head up towards the front of the building. "GOL-332, I think that's our guy, Dale." the larger dog said, slurping at his coffee loudly. The smaller one's head popped up to check before easing his seat back up. "Of course it is, I knew this was the gate to trust." he declared, pulling out a cellphone to speed-dial a number. "What are we gonna do now, D?" "Shh, lemme make this call in peace for a second... hey, it's us, the ones you called for recon? ...yeah, no, we stuck to the timeframe you gave us, the target's been confirmed at that college we parked at." Dick was starting to fall asleep in his seat again, so Dale smacked at him while completing the phonecall. "Gotcha.. yes, gotcha, you won't be needing anything else? Alright then, it was a pleasure doing business with you, and we'll just be on our way once our payment is secu- what??" The voice over the tiny microphone spoke in stern volumes, Dale glaring wide-eyed at the device like he wanted to bite a chunk out of it. He managed to inhale and hold it before responding tightly. "I understand, we will get a room and meet with you after the hit. Thank you very much for this opportunity." He beeped off the phone, calmly unclipped his seat belt, vacated the car, and then began to attack the right side of it in a psychotic frenzy, all manner of expletive spraying as hornets do from a disturbed nest. Dick watched him for a bit as he gradually slowed his raging melee with their car and got back inside of it. "We gotta go shack up in a hotel for the night, we're not getting paid until they kill this chick." "Hey, oh boy, a hotel, that'll have a bed for sure." He began to hand the chihuahua his coffee before giving a bit too much gas and causing a second furious explosion, this time in the car. The badly-secured lid had sluiced open and had went mostly all over Dale, staining his undershirt dark brown. Dick looked at him and raised his eyebrows high enough to expose his eyes at last. "Oh no, I'm real sorry about that, we can get the duffel bag out and take it-" Dale held up his paw. "Dick, shut up and let's just... take it to get washed somewhere, real quick. I like this shirt, this is my lucky shirt." "Okay, Dale." and he started up the car and turned off down the main street, looking like he'd be smacked around and scolded by the smaller man. Dale looked sidelong at him for a bit before looking forward quietly. "You're mad." "Dick, I ain't mad, I'm just cranky." "No, you're mad, you say that when you're mad." "What're you, my freakin' therapist? Get over into that one there and let's get this thing washed and dried, I'm gonna need it to keep from KILLING you, right in the face. "Dale, I'm really sorry." They parked and they got out. "Just finish your coffee, man, I gotta go use the bathroom and change out."
Tom was in a late afternoon haze of beer buzz, boredom, and bitterness. Something about the verbal skirmish with the snow leopard had really got on his nerves, and he still wanted to give her a piece of his mind. There was a bit of time left, and he felt like he could be risking at least one more smoke, so he went out the back door into the loading alley and lit up there, largely free of company for the moment, but it was then that one of the black cars from before slowly pulled into sight ahead, blocking off the alley's exit. "Shit.." he whispered, knowing better than to turn around as the sound of crunching rock on tires signalled he was being boxed in. He circled on the spot casually, eyes swallowing his surroundings to make sure there was no one else around in case he had to attack and escape. The two guys that got out had matching casual wear and a bully's confidence as they came his way. Two more door-shutting sounds behind him now, sending that tingle of adrenaline pre-game thru his body. Taking a deep inhale to martial his guts and nicotine, Tom came to a stop and looked to the guys in front of him as he exhaled, flicking the cigarette away. They were certainly taller up close. "Larry, Curly, good to see you, something I can help you two with?" he asked brazenly, getting two accosted looks in response. "How's he supposed to know that? He knows my name, man, how does he know that?" said the wiry one of the pair. Tom's throat tightened; one of their names actually WAS Larry, apparently. "He's calling us stooges, man, you know?" said the other, more standard-shaped one. "We got a smartass here, don't we?" came a voice from behind, followed by a hard shove that almost sent him onto the ground. "Hey!" Tom barked, stepping back to take all four of them in. They all had a kind of standard goon panache, and one of them had a shoulder holster slightly visible. The only animal folk in their number was a fox, shock-white and wearing the worst air of superiority among them, along with the tattoos and pink-red eyes. Tom made a mental note to attack this one first if he had to, but wisely switched gears. "Look guys, I think we got off on the wrong foot here, see... I'm a traveling salesman, and I got these dynamite blindfolds I'm peddling. You four want to line for a demonstration, I could oblige you a discount too!" he said, winking an eye. One of them chuckled off to the right, but Larry had apparently had enough, pulling an H17 into view, and putting the barrel inbetween Tom's eyes. He swallowed hard, carefully putting his hands up and standing his mental ground. "Yeah, talk that shit now, huh? Think you're all funny, man, I'll put you in the fucking GROUND, I don't give a fuck!" snarled this Larry.The fox put a clawed hand firmly on the guys' arm and caught his eye coldly. "Stow that piece, and calm down before you get us all popped, dig?" he said in a sibilant tone. Larry was still looking at Tom, glaring back at him, but obeyed and hung up the gun. The leader took point now, nodding for the raccoon to lower his arms. "I'll just... keep them up, if it's all the same, mutual trust eh?" said Tom, giving a weak smile. "Fair enough." answered the vulpine boss, "Now, my friend here seems to think you were scoping us earlier." "At the traffic light back there? No no, I just saw these nice Golgo Tundras going thru town, all sleek and white-- thought someone was putting on a concert or something. Honest curiosity, that was it." It wasn't necessarily a lie either. The tall fox looked him over a bit, his sharp eyes looking lower. "Got anything in your pockets?" "...I do." Tom carefully produced his wad of bills from one pocket and a pack of Mazzerucci Royals in the other. He really hoped they wouldn't stick their hand in the jacket pocket, for a few reasons at that. "See, I was just out doing laundry, there's no-- hey, dammit!" Larry had snatched the items up, and Tom moved his hands in protest, only to be frozen solid by the clawed fingers of the one in charge. "Mutual trust, right?" he said, smiling with sharp teeth. The bothered canine grimaced and tried to look helpless while they counted up his stolen cash, wishing he'd had enough magic stored up for a bolt of half-power lightning; they would probably survive, but with scars to remember. A sizable chunk of money was missing when it was handed back, and that was it. Tom looked up at the leader briefly, who was already biting onto one of the cigarettes. "I like Royals, consider it part of the toll here for wastin' our precious time with your peeking." and he felt his own pockets briefly before looking up again, "No lighter?" Tom lit his smokes on his own, so he just shrugged and produced his unfolded pockets. The four of them seemed to have had their fun and left, but the fox stayed a second to lean in close as his men returned to the cars. One particularly sharp claw came to rest gently just above Tom's left eyebrow. "Now, make a healthy choice, and stay the fuck out of sight for a couple days, okay? You and I see each other again, well--" He slowly dragged the sharp point across Tom's forehead, blood dripping down freely, making him wince a bit. "--You're gonna need one of those fancy blindfolds for when we execute you, since you uh... seem to be out of smokes too. Arrivederci, bambino~" he said, parting ways. "Yeah yeah, au revoir, Simone." Tom grunted, waiting until they'd disembarked before he snarled and kicked a nearby paint bucket across the alley like a soccer ball. "What the fuck is your DEAL, Canada?! I thought this was supposed to be a nice place!" he yelled. From somewhere in the barkyards of a nearby neighborhood, someone shouted in response. "I AM TRYING TO WORK OVER HERE!", it said. "SHUT UP!!" growled Tom, wiping at the blood on his face.
The raccoon was sitting in a miserable distemper while the dryer was finishing his clothes. 'I ought to just spin the wheel again and find someplace else, this town is becoming dangerous.' he thought, halfway thru another drink. He stopped suddenly at the sound of the door jingling, hurrying to move one of his towels over the opened can. A pair of dogs came in, talking in low voices, and Tom minded his own business, having had enough of strangers for one week. They seemed to mind their own business, so it was business as usual. One of them disappeared into the bathroom for a bit, coming out wearing a different shirt, and they proceeded to wash a single shirt. Tom had been on the streets for as long as he could remember, and had seen a furtive load of laundry or two, so lacking any other concrete plans, he got up and pretended to go check his clothes while pointing an ear their way. "...told you to keep it down, ya idiot." the smaller one hissed. "You worry too much, Dale, we're just there to drive anyone who needs it to safety after they corner that lady and tie her up." Already, this was sounding bad, but the raccoon kept incognito for the moment. "Yeah, well that's why they're calling in this extra muscle, this snow leopard's supposed to be a real killer born, y'know? Kinda like you and being so slow and clueless." Dick shrugged and lapped at his coffee again. "I'm just as my momma made me, Dale." "Yeah, well thank goodness she died before seeing this life of crime you've somehow clung to, she'd have died of shame otherwise." snapped the chihuahua, loading quarters into the machine. "Oh Dale, don't say that, she's already mad at me up in Heaven as it is." His partner scoffed and closed the hatch. "Look, I only yell because you never had no friends or family to steer you straight growing up, and I've told you, I'm your big brother! I gotta make sure you're learning and growing up better, yeah?" Dick nodded happily. "I love my big brother." Dale's face was a bit pinker at the cheeks, but he avoided eye contact for now. "Yeah, hey, y'know, it's... nice to be appreciated. Now, take a seat, will ya? Bad enough we're missing out on the fun work over at that construction site up the way, now I gotta hope this stain comes out." he muttered as they headed to one of the plastic benches. Tom was left with a great deal of trepidation: had he just made brief enemies with a trained killer somehow, or was any of this even true? He hurried to pound the rest of his beer, almost getting foam out of his nose in the bargain, bagged up his completed laundry, and left the place without a trace. He was halfway to the Door when he saw some day laborers around a truck by the gas station of his plaza. Once the clothing was carefull scooted into a distant, safe dimensional hideaway around the corner, he sauntered over to them, pretending to throw some trash away. "I don't mean to bother you guys, but do you know which way the big construction site is, just down this road here?"
Kari had been sitting in the parking lot of the campus for about ten minutes, watching the fracas of newspeople and police nearby and really feeling cheated of a decent day of schoolwork. The day was shot for sure, with the media frenzy still stirred up by people posting misinformation online, and news crew remaining on the scene for interviews with the friends or close ones of those involved. Kari looked over at her bag, containing the completed assignment, and felt supremely cheated as she started the car and looked over her shoulder. A bedraggled human face looked back immediately and she shouted in surprise. It was only then she realized it was from outside the car. Some drifter, bedraggled and carrying a backpack that was as weatherworn as it could be, was standing in the middle of the parking lot, looking past her car, then back at her. Something about it felt like the right thing to do, so she got out of the car and approached him. The man began to back away, muttering something. "No no, easy, I'm not gonna hurt you or waste your time, I wanted to ask if you'd seen anything weird recently." At first, the guy said nothing and continued mumbling something, but he paused on a dime and turned to her slowly before taking a huge inhale of her presence. The snow leopard stepped back, looking affronted. "Hey, what the hell?!" she snapped, "I just wanted a damn answer." The homeless man locked eyes with her, speaking very plainly. "He will lead you thru the door, and to places beyond here or there, and I will show you the other side! The OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR!" he said in a rising tone before wandering off incoherently, pulling the backpack into his arms and talking placatingly to it in tender whispers. Kari just got back in her car and looked confusingly at her steering wheel, like it would turn into a giant pretzel or something next. 'There's a lot of weirdos in town today, and that can usually mean something's up.' she thought, going from experience, 'The only problem is for who.. and why?" She rolled the window down and closed her eyes, feeling kind of cooped up for some reason "Excuse me?" "AAA!!" Kari's body moved defensively towards the sound, only to find some kid about 6 sandwiched up on himself to avoid the attack. "Hi? sorry there, kiddo, what did you need, are you lost?" she managed, still oddly on edge. "I'm um, here... this, uh, I got my... there's a letter for, here, there's a letter I got to give you. I have to go." he managed, handing a folded paper to her before hurrying back to a small bike and riding away. Kari almost threw it away, eager to put today behind her, but she groaned and unfolded it for reading. "We know who you are, come alone to the location marked at this address at this time only, make this easier on yourself." An address followed and the feline predator smiled with murderous glee, slowly tearing the letter in half. "Know who I am, do they?" she growled, her grin almost too high, "I sure hope they know what I can do." Before she turned the car around to head home, she carefully pocketed the two pieces of paper. "...dammit, why'd I do that."