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Muford · 12-01-2017, 07:40 PM

Some say Tommy Tuck was destined to be drafted high in the SMJHL draft. Others thing that #3 was too high, but all in all, sports runs in the family. From his brother Tor Tuck, playing in the SHL, to his other two brothers Jayce and Jaxon in the NSFL, the Tuck Family Tree is everywhere. Tor and Tommy were raised in Norway, in Oslo learning the ropes of hockey. They played on the same minor league team that their family could afford and that pushed them to great lengths. Tommy didn’t hit the ice skating quite as quickly as Tor did, but he got his calling in net. Tor was the biggest reason Tommy even put his name out there for the SMJHL anyways, He didn’t know if he had what it takes to be a goalkeeper in the big leagues, but Tor was always there pushing him along. Once he saw that Tor could make it, Tommy realized that he needed to push himself to get to the same level. Tommy wasted no time, and was back and forth meeting up with Tor throughout the season to work on his game to get drafted. Thursday came and went, and now Tommy will be headed to Prince George to play Hockey, and will continue to hone his skills until the day his name gets called to the SHL.

(229 words)

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CDub2 · 12-01-2017, 08:41 PM

It's been quite a journey for Carter Manning. Funny enough, he'd always been pushed towards playing football growing up. Luckily his Canadian blood took over and hockey became his passion. With the support of his family, Carter began playing hockey competitively through his high school years. In his Junior year, Carter receive some very valuable advice that would change his play style for the remainder of his high school and junior hockey days. "You may think it's the goalie's fault, but it can't be if it got through our defense." At this point in his career, Carter realized that if he controlled the puck and limited puck possession of the opponents, the wins will come more often than not. Since then, Carter has been one of the better defensive forwards in Junior hockey. He might not light the lamp as much as others, but the opponents hopefully won't light it up as much either. This simple quote from a high school coach changed the way Carter looked at the game of hockey. So while his parents, his dog, his friends, and his teammates have all supported him through his hockey journey, few have had as big of an impact of play style than his old coach for those very influential minutes of talking.

215 words

caltroit_red_flames · 12-01-2017, 08:44 PM

Compared to places like Toronto or Detroit, Western Michigan isn't exactly a hockey hot-bed. Sure pretty much every High School has a team, but I didn't know I wanted to be a hockey player until I was five when I went to see my first Grand Rapids Griffins game. From that point on, everything was hockey. Weekends were spent on the road in Chicago and Detroit playing more well known AAA teams, and after school I was either at the rink practicing, in the basement stick-handling, or at the gym trying to get stronger and faster.

When I go into High School I joined my varsity team at Grand Haven High School and the coach saw fit to give me an A as a freshmen. During my sophomore year I met Luke Glendening of the Red Wings in the NHL and he absolutely inspired me. He told me his story of rising through the ranks of amateur and professional hockey, and I decided I was going to find a junior team to play on. Now, going into my 17 year old season, I decided that team was going to be in the SMJHL. The next thing I knew, I was being drafted 5th overall by the St. Louis Scarecrows. It's a lot of pressure, but I'd say I'm up to the task.

Dawegg · 12-01-2017, 09:16 PM

I've been in the Austrian junior leagues over the course of my amateur career since I was 7, most notably on the Junior-Capitals U18 team where I played 84 games and posted a 2.20 GAA. More or less, I was one of the best if not the best Junior Goalie Austria could offer. I would like to think that the Austria Junior Leagues as a whole produce a wide range of great talent as we saw during this previous SJMHL draft. I cannot say that I have played with any of the other Austrian prospects however.

My father whom I mentioned in a pre-draft interview and who helped me reach this point told me that he's sure to watch every minute of every game St. Louis plays. He likely won't see me play much behind an awesome goaltender such as Johnny Yuma.

Some predicted early I would go in the first round, maybe even within the top ten. It's certainly interesting to have fallen to the fourth, but I am ecstatic to play for a great organization in St. Louis. Maybe I can achieve the same success in my career as my Manhattan Pride idol, C.J. James.I know that we as a team can win ourselves a cup this year whether or not I play. I have faith that this team will go far.

(220 Words)

***Ohtaay*** · 12-02-2017, 12:23 AM

Code:
210 Words

The biggest influence on my journey to the SMJHL has been my mentor, Ales Smirnov, and the team of the West Kendall Platoon. I first met Ales 6 years ago, when our school was invited to practice with the Russian IIHF team. I was lucky enough to be paired with Ales in the event. I enjoyed every moment of the event, and did not want it to come to an end. Lucky enough for me, the following summer Ales reached out to me, and asked if I wanted to learn a little more about the game. How could I say no? Ales began mentoring me in every aspect of the game from mental, physical, and even how make connections within the industry.

Thats when Ales flew me out to North America to meet his SHL team, the West Kendall platoon. I got meet a lot of great people, and build even more friendships. Spending my summers with Ales quickly evolved into him teaching me the North American game, and adjusting my skill set to better suit increase in speed of play.

Smirnov has been everything I can ask for in a mentor for my journey into the SMJHL, and hopefully soon to be the SHL.

BadgerBros · 12-02-2017, 01:46 AM

<div align="center">Journey to the Draft</div>

Ecstatic. That was the one word that could easily sum up Viktor Kolesnikovsâ€™ feelings. He did not travel to the draft as he wanted to share the experience with his family and teammates. That is one of his many outstanding characteristics. His friends and teammates are like family. Kolesnikovs is an easy going, well liked person who can get along with anyone and that presence will be felt in his new locker room.
Despite the time difference, Viktor and all his friends and family were awake and prepared for the draft. He knew he probably would not hear his name announced early on because of the late exposure he got but he was just fine with that. He knew no matter where he was drafted he would work his hardest to become one of the best young defenseman in the SMJHL. He would make each and every team that passed him up regret not selecting him early on.
It was around 7:17 a.m. in Tver when Viktorâ€™s dream became a reality. It was his moment. The one he had been working towards all of his life.. â€œAnd with the 55th pick in the 38th annual SMJHL entry draft the Detroit Falcons select â€¦ Viktor Kolesnikovs!â€

Word Count: 211

SupaWoov · 12-02-2017, 05:06 AM

Niklas grew up surrounded by football (soccer for you north americans) fans. However, the sport never interested him. The slow pace of it often bored him. He preferred the quick intensity of hockey, and took a liking to it a young age. He first started skating at five, after begging his parents for weeks. Niklas practiced religiously. After coming home from school and finishing his work, he'd be outside shooting and skating. His work ethic was unmatched.

Luckily for Niklas, his parents could afford to take him to the best facilities in his hometown, Munich. Here, he found his love for defense. He enjoyed beating out the competition and preventing their scoring opportunities. At the same time, he loved to be up in the rush when safe, and took pride in setting up scoring chances for his teammates. He knew that he wanted to do this for the rest of his life.

At 16, an SMJHL scout had noted Niklas. While Niklas didn't incredibly impress the scout, he saw potential. As the year went on, he began to pay more and more attention to the league. He knew that if he was going to have a successful career, he'd need to go through the SMHJL. After speaking to some of the managers, he knew he'd be right at home in Prince George with the Firebirds. He told the general manager of his liking towards Prince George, and the GM noted that. Niklas anxiously watched the draft, waiting to see where he'd be picked. Would he go to his dream team, the Firebirds, or be poached by another team?

Finally, in the sixth round, the Prince George Firebirds selected Niklas with the 45th overall pick. He couldn't have been happier. He knew this is where he wanted to grow his game, and now he anxiously waits to get on the ice. His intense, competitive personality will not allow him to settle for anything less than a Four Star Cup.

(328 words)

to12143 · 12-02-2017, 06:21 AM

Written option: Must include 200 words.
Draft day is one that you'll always remember - but it's the people and places that got you here that are most important. Tell us about your journey to the SMJHL draft: your family, your minor hockey team, your hometown, and/or whatever had the biggest influence on you.

Yannick quickly acclimated to hockey growing up, everyone he knew played it and they all dreamed of playing in the AHL, the Austrian Hockey League. Growing up in Salzburg the young Austrian knew what he wanted to do, and he wanted to play for Salzburgâ€™s hockey team in the AHL. Many people quickly saw his talent, and told him he could do better than the AHL, that he could eventually go across the ocean and play in some of the most high-profile leagues in North America. As far as Yannick was concerned hockey is hockey, it didnâ€™t matter where he played hockey, he just wanted to play hockey as long as he could. His parents, obviously wanting the best for him, quickly got him all of the coaching, experience, and exposure they could in Austria, and eventually he was able to make the trek across the ocean. Had it not been for his parents pushing him to go across the ocean and enter the SHL, and their minor league system, the SMJHL, heâ€™d still be a young Austrian playing in conditions that some would consider inhumane for a professional athlete. Yannick only knew the Austrian ice rinks and the play of the Austrians, so to him it was never an issue, but his parents knew conditions could be better and pushed him to the SHL.

(225 words)

FlappyGiraffe · 12-02-2017, 04:08 PM

Gary Grease has been spotted on a billboard in downtown Colorado!
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jdinino · 12-02-2017, 10:05 PM

Doc DiGreasiâ€™s path to be on a SMJHL team differs from the traditional teenagerâ€™s. The 19-year-old Italian-American wasnâ€™t born into a hockey family, as both of his parents had never seen the sport. He spent most of younger days playing multiple sports including baseball and basketball. He quickly learned that he couldnâ€™t throw or jump, leading him to play hockey. He never saw the ice in a high school game as he wasnâ€™t a strong or a fast skater due to his noodle legs. After those 4 years of hard practice and playing street hockey Doc decided it was time to declare for the SMJHL rookie draft. There was one problem though, the draft committee of the SMJHL couldnâ€™t confirm Docâ€™s age since the ink on his birth certificate had smudged off by his greasy hands. After countless hours of his Italian parents yelling at the committee, they finally agreed to let him join the league but only if he joined after the draft as a free agent. Digreasi was a very sought after free agent as the Colorado Mammoth were trying to build the Grease Team by drafting both Gary Grease and Grease La Roache. The Mammoth would then sign Doc to a $3 mil contract.
(207 words)
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Nobody · 12-02-2017, 10:34 PM

Itâ€™s not an easy road to the SMJHL for anybody, yet alone someone from the UK where hockey often refers to the game played on grass, out in the rain, rather than the better, icier kind.

It all started as a young child playing old hockey games and falling in love with the sport. However, the lack of ice rinks meant it was difficult to get into playing. Luckily there was a local inline team where I started to play. It wasnâ€™t ice hockey though, I wanted to be like the people in the game. After a lot of begging my parents were finally convinced to sign me up to the nearest ice hockey team.

It didnâ€™t take long for me to develop some decent skills. Within the first couple months I was at the level of the kids that had played for a few years by now. In my second season I was leading the team in points and +/-. After a few years of playing scouts from European teams started to notice me, I thought at the time that I would move to Europe to play eventually, I always have liked Scandinavia.

That didnâ€™t happen, fate decided my next step. My father was offered his dream job, only it was in the Canadian office. So off to Canada we went. I was now in hockey land, I could take my game to the next level playing more often and against better players. Playing in Canada made me appreciate hockey so much more. I never expected SMJHL scouts to take notice of me, I never thought I could one day be playing in the SMJHL and looking to play in the SHL one day.
But here I am, a member of the Detroit Falcons, dreaming about what the future holds now.

rieksts · 12-02-2017, 10:35 PM

For Romualds Loks playing in the SMJHL is one of his lifelong dreams with just one step away from the highest level of competition - the SHL. Hockey in Latvia is by far the strongest sports with basketball slowly becoming a very strong number two. Romualds was entered in to hockey by his father Christian who was a player in the Latvian Higher league. Romualds very fastly proved to be a much better prospect than his father ever was, so his parents spent most of their money to develop Romualds as fast as possible.

One of the first steps was to provide the best training opportunities so the entire family moved to USA, with his father entering a youth coaching job and his mother becoming a nanny. Although the start was very tough for the family, it paid off fastly with Romualds earning his first professional deal at 16. He was better than older players in his team and now has been drafted to SMJHL.

His opening contract was 4 million dollar so the hard road for him to SMJHL has paid off, and the family now bought a 5 bedroom flat in Montreal. Romualds hasn't forgotten the city he came from Jelgava, and donated 250 000 to the local hockey team for young talent.

Mongoose87 · 12-03-2017, 12:28 AM

They call Pittsburgh the â€œSteel City.â€ For decades, you could see the dark smoke of steel mills rising up all along the shore of the river. These mills were the lifeblood of Pittsburgh and if you didn't work in one, you knew someone who did. When the steel companies went under and the mills closed, the economy of Pittsburgh was devastated. Scores were left unemployed. Many moved away in search of new work. Many were left destitute.
James Johnson's family was not one of them. His father, John moved to town as a highly paid bank executive, in 1986. He met his wife Jane shortly after, a professor at Carnegie Mellon university. James was born into a life of comfort.
â€œBefore the draft, my dad was saying to â€˜Jamie boy, don't you worry one bit. No pressure.â€™ And he meant that,â€ says James. â€œDad's always told me he's got enough put away that my grandchildren will be living off of it.â€
Indeed, Jamesâ€™ teammates often called him â€œDeep Pockets Jim.â€ A memorable occasion was the time John rented a private jet to take the team, the Giant Eagles, to a tournament. It was in Philadelphia.
â€œI was always told, do what you love. My dad loved getting rich as an executive. My mom, she loves being dean of medicine. I love playing hockey.â€

Sopath · 12-03-2017, 03:28 AM

Growing up me dad worked in the iron factory and me mother worked at the local school as a librarian. We had a decent amount of money, enough were I could get a new stick for Christmas each year. I remember being a young lad watching Ireland in the IIHF gold medal game on TV and thinking, â€œOi thatâ€™s fucking gonna be me one day.â€ Growing up playing at local ponds, street, and in the local ice rink helped build me character. Swordsâ€™ hockey players is a rough bunch who only care about scoring. I loved playing hockey but, I knew I was better than me lads and that I had a chance to be like Pedro Sarantez. Well one day I got me lucky break as some Irish national teams had scouted me and placed me on the U-17 team. After playing in a few tournaments I was brought on to play with men a few years older than me on Dublin City of the Irish Amateur Hockey League. There it was where I met the man who changed my life and crafted me into the Hockey player that I am today, I met coach Griffith Oâ€™Brian. When I was brought in it was rough as men in their 20â€™s donâ€™t want to play with a kid, it makes them feel stupid. Griffith knew that the only way I was going to survive was to show me teammates just what I was worth. I came in with great speed and passing ability but Griffith refined me into the quick player that I am today. Griffith would have me rush up and down the ice for hours on end. Then heâ€™d drill me on positioning. After a while of so much intense practice Griffith and I became quite close. He always used to say that one day Iâ€™d take him to that castle on top of the hill. I never knew what that meant when I was a kid but now I think I do now. For as much as Griffith yelled at me he never missed a chance to tell me when I did something right and I remember one time I scored a hat-trick in a playoff game. Griffith was so proud of me that when the buzzer went off he charged on the ice with his nice dress shoes on and hugged me as tightly as he could. It was one of the best moments of me life. When I came in, I was gifted player with no brains and Griffith made me think with the puck for the first time in me life. Griffith believed in me so much that he knew it was worth it to drill me harder than the other players and to be more tough because in the end it would be worth it. Dublin City, also known as the Hawks, became one of the most feared teams in all of the IAHL. So feared and so prominent that Griffith started to notice SMJHL scouts at our games. When Griffith told me that Iâ€™d get him to that castle on the hill he meant that through sacrifice we could accomplish great things together. I also noticed the scouts in seats. It didnâ€™t take long before it was clear that I was on the radar to go to the SHL, the most premier hockey league in the world, and make Ireland proud. The idea of playing hockey outside of Ireland and outside of the U-17 team was so exciting that I couldnâ€™t help but make my interest in joining the SMJHL draft known. I thought Griffith would be happy for me, I think maybe a small part was but it seemed like he just tried to keep his head buried in the ice instead of accept that I was going on to greater things. When I declared for the S38 SMJHL draft, I thought heâ€™d finally come around and be proud of me. He wasnâ€™t. He begged me to stay as he said I was â€œthe greatest playerâ€ heâ€™d ever coached but, I told him that I was just following my dreams the same as he was following his and that surely he must understand. He nodded and we shook hands. The next morning I flew to North America for me draft. When I got drafted by Vancouver the first thing I did after I came off the stage was call me mother, the second thing I did was call Griffith. He didnâ€™t answer the first time. I called later that night and he answered, I told him the results. He replied, â€œI knowâ€ and after a long pause he said â€œcongratulations. I meant it when I said you were the best. We couldâ€™ve been the best.â€ Then he hung up. I donâ€™t know what he meant. For any hockey player the greatest accomplishment is to move on to the SHL, I had outgrown the IAHL. He should be proud of me right? It is what it is. I wouldnâ€™t be where I am today without Griffith, but I too have a castle on the hill I must reach.

**esilverm** · 12-03-2017, 12:37 PM

If you ask me why I got into hockey, I would not need to think very long to find an answer. The Erste Bank Eishockey Liga had a team called the Vienna Capitals. Though the team was very young when I started watching it, I was alway overjoyed when I saw players Manuel Latusa and Mike Craig skating up and down the ice. This was about the time that I started playing youth hockey. Unfortunately my stay in Vienna wouldn't last long. When I was 7, I moved to the state of Florida. While being a very unorthodox place to play hockey, the state had seen a very recent surge of interested players due to the recent Stanley Cup win by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. As I got accustomed to living in Florida, I started trying out for teams. I eventually ended up on the Tampa Bay Scorpions youth team and played there until high school. I joined the Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey League in its inaugural season on the East Lake High School team and that is when i started hearing from colleges. I eventually decided to commit to the University of Michigan and played on the Wolverines. Playing in the SHL has always been my dream. I finally got drafted in the SMJHL to the St Louis Scarecrows and couldn't be happier.

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Special thanks to Blitz, jhockey, Ragnarr, and sulo for the gorgeous sigs <3

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