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Josh Driver is a young, sniper forward who was born and raised in the upper peninsula of Michigan in the United States of America. After starting his hockey career as a child, Driver has consistently been found playing for Michigan-based teams and establishing himself as a top player in the state. Before finishing up with high school, he took advantage of an opportunity to play for the United States Under-18 National Development Team. During his season on this team, he competed along with his teammates against several NCAA Division 1 teams. This exposure would pay off big for Driver, who would eventually sign to play with the Lake Superior State University Lakers right out of high school. Located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Lake Superior State University gave him an opportunity to continue playing in his home state. 

As a freshman with the Lakers, Driver tallied 16 goals and 9 assists for a total of 25 points. After helping lead the Lakers to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association conference championship game, Driver was named WCHA Rookie of the Year. That year, the Lakers would fall short of the conference championship, but stormed back the following year with Driver at the helm. He dominated during his sophomore season, leading the NCAA in face off percentage and scoring 28 goals. His total of 43 points that season helped to lift the Lakers to the top seed in the conference tournament. After winning the conference tournament, the Lakers would then go on to win the national championship. From there, Driver saw his dreams of playing hockey at a professional level start to take shape before him. After struggling to decide if he should stay with the Lakers for a third season, he finally decided to leave and pursue a shot with an SMJHL team despite having missed the draft.

Driver declared himself available as an undrafted free agent and started fielding offers from teams. Committing to playing hockey outside the state of Michigan for the first time, he signed a contract with the Vancouver Whalers. Shortly after, however, the contract was deemed illegal and Vancouver lost their rights to signing Driver. Following this slight drama, an offer was extended to him to play for the Detroit Falcons. Returning to his home state once again, Driver signed with the Falcons and joined their large class of rookies. 

Driver started the season for Detroit as the 4th line center, with fellow rookies Savoli Tankovic and Przemyslaw Brzeszczyczkie (better known as Pussy Blaster or Kielbasa Kock) as his wingers. In the 5th game of the season, Driver recorded his first career point with an assist to Pussy Blaster against the St. Louis Scarecrows. He wouldn't have to wait much longer to net his first career goal, scoring in the very next game against the Vancouver Whalers on assists from Tankovic and fellow rookie Wibbly McButternutz. The very next game, Driver would extend his point streak to three games with an assist on another Pussy Blaster goal. The streak would grow to four games after he then tallied both an assist and a goal against the Montreal Militia in the 8th game of the season. 

After a somewhat lengthy pointless streak, the lines were shifted and Driver was put on the third line as right wing alongside rookie standout Espen Knutsen Jr. and Gabster TheMagnificent. Shortly after this change was made, he scored his third goal of the season. Playing alongside Knutsen Jr. would prove to be beneficial for Driver as he then went on a three game goal scoring streak to bring his goal total to six. This would be the end of his goal scoring for the season, as he finished with 6 goals and 8 assists for a total of 14 points. Driver averaged just 10.86 minutes per game and proved to be a streaky scorer. In nine playoff games, he tallied 3 more assists as the Falcons eliminated the Whalers in five games and were then swept by the Kelowna Knights. 

Driver now looks forward to achieving another hockey dream he's had since he was a child, finding out recently that he has been selected to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Keep an eye out for this youngster as he continues to develop into a more consistent scorer. He has a busy off season ahead of him as he plans for the WJC and for the upcoming SHL entry draft. After that, he will return to the ice for the Falcons in hopes of improving his numbers and helping in their effort to win the Four Star Cup in his second season.

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VILLE VIRTA || Center || Detroit Falcons
Age: 17
Birthplace: Nokia, Finland
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 215lbs

Number: 85
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Career Statistics:
SMJHL Regular Season
S50