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KenitohMenara · 01-30-2021, 05:36 PM

1518 words - x2 draft media

The Player Tribune are pleased to welcome back Alexis Saint-Michel, former Vancouver Whaler DFA and top prospect in the upcoming Season 58 SMJHL entry draft.

***

The final horn of Game 5 will haunt me for a long time. We were not supposed to on this playoff run. I had been fully expecting to be back home in Quebec by then. But here we were…

The Vancouver Whalers, who had a disastrous season after winning the four start trophy who had traded their star player to a rival team, who were giving a line made up of DFA players (myself included) quality minutes on the ice, was fighting for a chance to play in the finals.

Game 5 brought that dream crashing down to earth and all I could do was watch from the bench as Anaheim celebrated their victory. I had lost many games in the past, for different teams in different circumstances but here… in this one moment, it felt like someone had stabbed me. Right in my heart.

I skated down the line, shaking the hand of every Anaheim player and wishing them luck in the finals. They had won fair and square, their goalie had been excellent and it would be a great match up against Anchorage in the finals.

I didn’t hang around too much after the game. I got changed and went to sit with the others to talk to the media. The entire locker room had been eerily quiet. Anyone who has played on the Whalers team will tell you how loud and energetic the locker room is. It instills a sense of brotherhood in you and you want to play on the ice with this team. But that night, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The players quietly changed, some of the veterans embraced one another… it was going to be their last game as a Whaler.

I couldn’t help but think this had been partly my fault. What if I had worked harder in training? What if I had played harder or scored that goal? Would it be us off the face Anchorage right now?

I tried to answer the questions from the media as best I could but my mind was all over the place. I tried to keep a calm face for the cameras and the media but anyone could tell I was in a bad way… then one journalist asked the question:

“This is a question for the veterans. The team had 3 DFA’s late into the year, playing significant minutes. Do you have any thoughts of Alexis here?”

For a second, I swore my heart had stopped. Now they were asking about me. I didn’t know what they were going to say but in my mind I could only imagine the answers being negative. Then the veterans spoke:

“The homie is young but cool. Level headed with a laser focus. Sharp mind and sharp aim. The perfect hockey player. He is Ice.” - Zayne Rotzbua

“Alexis is a good kid, who has the potentially to be one of the best players in the league in a few years. If not that at least better than that scrub Koopa” - Nikolaj Boyle

“ASM is a speedy kid, and definitely has the potential to be something big. If he can work on his shot a little bit more, he's probably set to turn into a 30 goal scorer or maybe even better than that.” - Valtterri Kauppinen, the man who had become my mentor during my time in Vancouver

"When we heard Saint-Michel was available to be signed as a DFA we immediately jumped on the opportunity. The kid's got it all, offensive presence, defensive awareness, and a strong edge to his game. He's already starting to leave a mark and this is just the start of his journey." - General Manager Dexter Aria, the man who had been a huge part of the process of bringing me into Vancouver. In fact, he's the main reason that I was a Whaler to begin with.

I was almost teared up as they spoke so highly of me. The fact that I had left such a positive impression on my team, these guys who would most likely be the next generation of the SHL’s best was the best feeling. I felt a lot better after that. After shaking the hands of every man I had played with and especially Koopa for all he had done for me, I packed up my bags and headed home for Quebec.

The family welcomed me back as if I had won the four star trophy. It was so nice to be back home after nearly 4 months away. The family and most of my friends had anticipated I would be back after a month and a half considering the playoff indicators said Vancouver was going to get beat by Nevada (We showed them alright!). Just getting to hug my mother and my sisters again felt so nice. There are things that skype calls and facetime simply cannot replicate.

Being back home with my friends and my former coaches, training up for the draft and skating my old rinks again gave me time to put things into perspective. Vancouver had far exceeded all expectations going into that playoff run and the fact that I was a part of that, and was actively contributing at that (3 Goals and 3 assists to end the playoff run) was huge for me. I hadn’t been a hanger on, riding on the coattails of great players. I had been a true part of the run that shocked the world. Part of that was thanks to having Robert (E.O Speedwagon) and Eoin (Byrne) as my linemates. Those guys are awesome and I wish them all the luck in the world in the upcoming draft. They are great players and I know that any team that drafts them will be getting an amazing teammate.

I had intended to just ride out the offseason, continue with training and prepare for the draft, but the SHL was not done with me yet. The hall of fame ceremony was about to happen and the committee had wanted a change of hosts. They wanted a player to host it and had good working knowledge of the SHL’s history. I had put my name forward but I didn’t think that I was going to get the job… then the committee called me up and said they wanted me to host it.

After I calmed down, I started writing my speeches for the ceremony and for the players that would be inducted. One of the players that was going to be part of the ceremony was Mike Izzy, my favourite childhood player. As you can imagine, this was rather nerve-wracking, being the guy who would be inducting their hero into the hall of fame. The Dragons were the team I supported as a child, after all with no SHL team in Quebec at the time I had to support someone and who better than the team that my favourite player was on.

I headed for Toronto to host the ceremony and, with Mike Izzy in the audience, gave the best speech I could. After the ceremony concluded, the man himself came up to me and shook my hand.

“That was one of the best speeches I have ever heard from a hall of fame ceremony. You did good, kid. Good luck with the season, I’ll be watching.”

As he smiled at me and walked away, I wonder if he realized how much that meant to me. Sure, he was probably more choked up with the emotion of finally becoming a hall of famer after a storied 18 season career, but the fact that he said those words to me… I almost lost control. They say to never meet your heroes as they will only let you down but Mike turned out to be bigger and better than I could have ever imagined.

Now the draft fast approaches and I will soon be heading over to see where I end up. A lot of teams had expressed interest in me so I really couldn’t guess where I would head. Vancouver had the 9th pick, would I go back there? The championship winning Anchorage Armada had talked about me before, would I end up there? Newfoundland seemed high on me and they had the first overall pick, would that happen?

All this speculation is generally unhelpful but there is something I wanted to say to the GM’s of the SMJHL. My name is Alexis Saint-Michel, former DFA of the Vancouver Whalers. No matter what team drafts me, I will give you 100% every night. I will give you my heart, my soul, my sweat and my blood to turn the team into a winner. That is how I am and it is the only way I know how to be. Thank you for your consideration. It’s been a crazy ride so far for me and I am more than willing and able to keep on going.

Dextaria · 01-30-2021, 06:23 PM

Legendary Whalers DFA. Hell of a run with the Whalers' DFA run this past playoffs Whalers

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