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TheHammer43 · 04-05-2023, 01:14 AM

It's been a bit of a difficult transition for me from the junior league to the big boy league, it reminds me a little bit of what it's like in college, you see when you play in college you play against some people who potentially "Don't have it" and what I mean by "It" I mean they're not making it to the show, only about two percent of college players make it to the national hockey league, so the chances you're playing against someone who has "it" are pretty low which means you're hopefully in that two percent, which means you have a lot more chances to shine! This brings me back to my point of playing in the junior league, not everyone has "it" which means you have the opportunity to shine, but here I am trying to find where I truly belong in the big boy league. I love New England, I couldn't see myself fitting it anywhere else as amazing as I have here, I just wish I had more in the tank to help contribute more. Back when I played for Kelowna I was so used to having the spotlight that I got so used to it, if I needed to take control and metaphorically put the team on my back for a win I could do that, I also had amazing teammates on my line that made this a very possible thing to do, again, I got used to it; Now I'm surrounded by players who are miles ahead of me and I want to do everything I can to help but sometimes I just can't hang with the "big boys" Now I'm not getting discouraged in fact it's completely opposite from that, this only fuels my fire, I had my eyes set on being a rookie of the year hopeful but I've come to accept that my chances are slowly becoming thinner and thinner. Statistically, I'm doing well, I got my first SHL point in a loss to the Manhattan Rage and I was pretty stoked about that it's one of the metaphorical monkeys you have to get off your back, one monkey down, two more to go, we lost that game six to seven, not the end of the world, we hung in there very well. My next "metaphorical monkey" climbed off my back the next game we played against the Texas Renegades, I scored my first SHL goal and trust me off all the "metaphorical monkeys" that one felt the best to get off my back, you spend a lot of time thinking "am I ever going to score a goal or am I going to be the bust that never could" but luckily I tucked one for the boys and I grabbed that puck and added it to the collection, New England won that game eight-two, I finished with a goal and an assist, things are looking up. The next few games were tough ones are me, it's like this, I want to contribute as much as I possibly can, it's like the harder I try the harder it is for me to actually successfully contribute, but when I don't think about it and just do it, that's when I really start to shine, I've come to accept that I am no longer the "Star Player" again I have to find where I fit best to this team, I have to find my "new role" on the Wolfpack, What am I? Am I the guy who just feeds his teammates? Am I the third/fourth-line beauty? I'm definitely not a goon that's for sure I learned that a long time ago, what will be my role? Back to the lengthy streak of weird games, an eight-to-one loss against Philidelphia, Last season once Kelowna had been eliminated from the playoffs and I knew that I was definitely getting the call to New England next season I took a trip to watch New England in the playoffs and I wouldn't be lying to you if I told you that, that series a new rivalry was created and I'm sure a lot of New England players and fans would agree with that statement. That eight-to-one loss was a tough one, boys just couldn't get in gear that game. Moving on from that loss we played another team we faced in the playoffs; Buffalo, we would go on to win that four to one, I know I said it was weird and I'm getting to that point, I ended that game with an assist as I said earlier my rookie of the year dreams are long gone but at least I'm getting points to keep eyes on me. Three to two victory against Baltimore tucked another goal and boy does it feel good to win against teams in your conference! I really broke out the next game we played against Toronto, I have a personal vendetta against every Toronto team that has ever existed, that's a story for another day, I scored a goal and fed two assists that game, and we were rocking and rolling that game!! We started to run into problems when we play "top tier teams" Montreal is known for hockey okay, and this team is steamrolling the league, but the wolfpack isn't going to just sit back and let that happen, unfortunately, our efforts were not enough to prevent Montreal from walking away with the win, the final score seven to three, I did a whole lot of nothing that game and I feel like if I was able to get my ass in gear that game, the final score would have been a lot different. Bounced back to a six-three victory against Seattle where I also did a whole lot of shit all... next up Winnipeg Aurora, final score five-three, I'm loving these wins, I love having a solid team in front of me! But alas, I did absolutely nothing in that game.. see where I'm going with this? I'll speed this up for you a little haha, nine to one loss against yet again...Philidelphia, it hurts but we'll get them soon enough, finally broke that little streak I was on and scored and assisted! I guess the important thing is I am recording points and I guess that's just as important as scoring goals, I always knew when I got drafted into this league that I wanted to be a big-time scorer and that's exactly what I was when I played in the junior league, it's a lot more difficult once you get into the big boy league where everyone is just as good and in most cases better than you are. A five-one win against Tampa, walked away with one assist. Over the course of the next few games, I would have these weird consistent one assists games, and you know what I wasn't even upset with it! As long as the boys are putting it in the net I can live with that! I hit a bit of a scoring drought which I'm not too proud of, I don't want the coaching staff to think I'm an absolute pylon out there so luckily for me in a game against Manhattan I scored twice! Final score THIRTEEN TO THREE! Finished that game with five points! We're now about roughly twenty-four games into the season and I am now currently in a five-game pointless streak, doesn't feel very good, that's the "lengthy weird" streak I was talking about a bit ago, I don't know what kind of "funk" I'm in right now but if I want to continue proving these teams that didn't think I was good enough wrong I got to get out of it or else I'm going to be exactly what they thought I was, I also have this message to send to the management team in New England that they ultimately made the right choice by trading up to get me, this pointless streak needs to end RIGHT NOW. Philidelphia and Montreal are up on the schedule the next few games and I feel like if I can really buckle down and do what I can to make a difference in those games we can walk away with a win and our heads held high up in the air, lord knows come playoffs that those are going to be the teams to beat and I'd rather beat them now so we can get the upper hand and recognize what their weaknesses are. I'm currently at six goals, sixteen assists, equalling twenty-two points with a thirteen plus-minus, which I got to say is great! I really struggled with my plus-minus in the junior league but the boys on my line are killing it! It's been a long time since I've had to work my way up to be on the first line and I used to hate it but now out of all the rookies in the league I'm currently fourth in the league in plus-minus, I know it's early in the season but it's something I will think about for a long time! I am also currently sixth in points in rookies and fifth in assists, like I said it's still very early but I think if I can shake this "funk" we can get those numbers up!

Thank you for taking the time to listen to me ramble about the issues I've been having, I know getting to where you want to be in the league is more of a marathon than it is a race and I know it's going to take some time, I'm just so eager to do everything I can to help my boys! Out of all my stats, I could care less about them if we weren't winning, of course, I like helping my team by scoring or by "saucing" the rock to someone to score, but if it's not a win, who cares. All in all, it's been a great first season in the league, I may not get rookie of the year but I got something better out of it, a great team with lots of great teammates on it! Let's go win us a championship, boys!!

spidey · 04-05-2023, 08:35 AM

"HAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMERRRRR!

You got this!

***MikeLiut*** · 04-05-2023, 11:11 PM

We miss Jacques in Kelowna!

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