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Wearingabear · 06-10-2020, 03:14 PM

First media piece

"Halfway to Victory"

An in depth look into how Igor Victory is adjusting to live in North America and how it's affected his hockey.

Igor Victory was born in the town of Tampere, Finland, which is located in the southern part of the country and is the second largest area in all of Finland, boasting a population of roughly 240,000. Growing up Igor was surrounded by hockey, his father, Aatami Victory played for the Tampereen Tappara, where he was heralded as one of the best wingers in the team's history. Aatami was a pivotal part of the 2003 Championship team there in Tampere.

Igor recalls the early morning skates, the All Star Game appearances, and the perennial play off appearances made by his Dad and the rest of the Tappara. He was amazed by the passion, the camaraderie, and athleticism of the team. He recalled the first All-Star Game he attended with his father where the kids were brought onto the ice during some of the skills competitions. His dad, being one of the leading scorers, was taking part in the Shoot Out competition that year. Igor being only 5 at the time, wanted nothing more than to score a goal with Dad.

As the time came and Aatami's name was called to head to center, young Igor came out with, suited up and ready to get his first big league goal. As they skated towards the net, Aatami gave the goalie a deke from left to right, passed the puck to Igor who put it in through the 5 hole. Igor remembers this as the best moment of his life thus far. As they skated back, Aatami lifted Igor up on his shoulders, and told him this was the first of many goals he would score.

Years later, Igor found himself dedicating everything he had to playing hockey. He studied old videos from the big league, trying to emulate them on the ice. As he grew more, he worked out with his Dad's trainer, who was impressed by the sheer size and athleticism of Igor. The trainer knew this kid would be special and a great player. He made the call to the coach of the Tampereen Koovee of the Mestis League, which is the 2nd highest league in Finland. Coach Markkula was so impressed by what he saw, he knew right then and there that this kid had to be brought on.

During his two years with the Koovee, Igor performed as one of the leagues top defenders. His first year he was in the top 3 of voting for the League's best D-Man, he had a slash mark of 12-35-47. His second year he was the team's Power Play specialist, he recorded 6 of his 15 goals on the power play, and his 20 power play assists led the league. He ended his second year scoring 15 goals, 40 assists for 55 points in 50 games. An impressive scoring line for any player in the league, let alone a blue liner.

This led Igor to declare for the upcoming SMJHL draft the following year. With a stat line like that, he hoped he'd be able to make the jump out of the Finnish Juniors league to the North American league and see where he could perform with the world's best.

After being drafted 48th Overall by the Anchorage Armada, Igor Victory was on his way to a seemingly familiar land.

It turns out that Anchorage, Alaska and Tampere, Finland share a lot of similarities. Both lie on the 61N latitude, lending it to a very seasonal climate. Heavy snow in the winter, a big thawing mud season in the early spring, but spectacular summers where the Sun will shine for the majority of the day. Which Igor loves to take advantage of. His standard summer activities include Championship kayaking, hiking, swimming, mountain biking, and lots of eating and drinking.

Since arriving in Anchorage, Igor had been taking in the sights, checking out glaciers and ice caves, eating Reindeer hot dogs, salmon chowder.

His hockey however, has slowed down a little bit compared to his time in the Finnish league. 25 games in and he's only scored 1 goal, 4 assist for 5 points on the year. When asked about his slow in production he had this to say: "It's a big adjustment going from Finland to America. The Ice is smaller, the game is much more North to South, the players are bigger and faster, and their skills are second only to the big show. So the competition is a little more fierce out here".

What's he's lacking in scoring this year, he's helping out where he can on the blue line. He's currently +7 on the year, which he's proud of on a year where the team is posting a sub .500 record.

Where does he need to improve the most? The little things. Coaches have praised him for being in position, hustling while he's out there, and being a team player. If he wants to get ahead he'll need to work on his discipline, he's currently tied for the most PIM on the team at 22.

He had this to say about his penalties: "You know, these guys are so fast out here. I thought I was quick, but these kids fly by me and I end up getting caught flat footed, and use my stick a bit too much and end up drawing tripping or hooking calls. So I know this summer I'll be intently focused on my speed and positioning. I've already talked with the training staff on how to improve both of those."

Being 6'4 and 230, Igor is a big player on the ice. So while working on his speed is always ideal, he should really put his focus on positioning and stick work. When you think of other large bodied blue liners, you think Zdeno Chara, Big Buff, Burnzie, and Shea Weber. All of whom aren't the fastest players, but rely on their positioning, long stick reach, and sheer grit and size to clamp down on their opponents.

When asked about the team and locker room interactions Igor had this to say: "The team has been great, from top to bottom, coaches to training staff, they've really taken me in and made me feel welcome here. Especially as somebody who is foreign and isn't accustomed to American culture. The boys have shown me around town, and introduced me to some great things. Things like demolition derby, rifle ranges, and eating contests."

We hope that the rugged terrain of Alaska isn't bearing down too hard on Igor. One thing that is a major adjustment for him, and everybody on the team, is the amount of travel that needs to be done for every game. The boys become very close and tight knit with all the hours they put on the road.

Igor had this to say: "It was a shock for sure, Tampere to Helsinki is about a two hour drive. Now we have to take a 4 hours flight at the minimum just to get to our game. But we stay busy on the plane, lots of netflix, card games. We all take turns trying to calm down Turg, he doesn't like being cooped up too long."

So far it hasn't been the most successful campaign for this young Finnish rookie, but he's looking to the future and won't be discourage by this season.

***Ohtaay*** · 06-10-2020, 03:25 PM

Nice article man! Igor gonna be a stud!

***honkerrs*** · 06-10-2020, 03:31 PM

a

***honkerrs*** · 06-10-2020, 03:33 PM

***golden_apricot*** · 06-10-2020, 03:35 PM

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