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LightningDragon · 01-29-2020, 02:37 PM

Noah Nystrom grew up in the urban city of Stockholm. Unlike many other Swedes growing up on community rinks, Nystrom got an up close view of legends of his country. When Sweden played international games in hockey, Nystrom almost always was able to get tickets. When international tournaments came to Sweden, as they often did, Nystrom was able to get a first hand look. Noah Nystrom grew up in the populated, and tough, Stockholm junior hockey leagues. These leagues often had the best from around the country, coming to the capital to play with the best and learn from the best. Nystrom impressed immediately, being a homegrown player in that league dominating defensively. As his scouting report said in North America before he came over, Nystrom was a physical force in Sweden, and it continues to be a part of his game today. Sure, now he has evolved his game to include more than just hits, but growing up in Stockholm, it's how he thrived with his bigger frame.

Mavfatha · 01-29-2020, 03:26 PM

Growing up in Germany, Manuel Gotze's primary initial source of hockey information were bootlegged versions of the three Mighty Ducks films with German subtitles. He still didn't really understand the game that well after watching the films, coming away with questions about why the players were passing eggs and garbage around instead of hockey pucks, plus the strange inability of that one guy to just brake without breaking himself. However, one big takeaway he did gain was the power of the Bash Brothers, particularly his favorite player from the films, Fulton Reed. As he was finally able to play the game for himself, this is the kind of playstyle he tried to emulate - despite not really having the size advantage at that age to pull off the physicality that was truly required. He was a bit of a laughingstock to other parents around his youth leagues (and to his own parents for that matter), basically trying to be the Tazmanian Devil on the ice but often whiffing on his checks completely.

Muerto · 01-29-2020, 03:56 PM

Goku Muerto was born in Iceland, which is not known as a hockey hotbed. However, his oldest cousin, Riko, broke the SHL barrier when he became a professional player with the Edmonton Blizzard in S15. Goku's admiration for his cousin got him interested in hockey himself, and he began playing for fun at a very young age. Goku had some obvious talent, but Iceland does not have much for organized leagues, so he decided to leave for Norway, where Riko played IIHF hockey, to join the U16 league there. Goku was more than able to compete with the Norwegian players, becoming the top scorer for his squad, even though they were unable to advance past the semi-finals. With proper coaching and structure, Goku was able to elevate his skills until he, too, was ready to declare for the SMJHL Draft of S42. His younger brother Vegeta also followed him to the SHL, so the Muerto family is definitely the premier hockey dynasty of Iceland!

Zach · 01-29-2020, 03:59 PM

Yes, that is the Detroit Falcons logo added since I've mentioned before Archer was born in Canada and later moved to Detroit and played for Little Caesars. Figured it might be a bit hard to notice

StadiumGambler · 01-29-2020, 04:27 PM

Nick's early hockey days were spent in his place of birth, Shrewsbury, a sleepy market town in England with a population around 75000. The British Isles youth scene was producing some talented players, but the talent across the board wasn't too great, so in Nick's early days in youth hockey he tended to stand out above the rest. He was bigger than most kids, more physical than the bigger kids in his age group, and was still routinely the fastest skater on the ice despite his size.

At the age of 10, Nick scored 150 goals in 30 games for the Shrewsbury Blues, who were a team for 11 and 12 year olds that Nick was advanced into due to his skill level. The Blues beat better youth teams in London and Manchester to become national champions for their age group, which led to Nick's parents deciding on a move to Canada in order to further Nick's potential career. This led to the Grande Prairie Gryphons in an elite Alberta bantam league, then the Colorado Raptors, and the rest is history.

Part of Nick's development as a hockey player was also aided by the fact he was a fair rugby and soccer player, doing well for school teams in both sports. Hockey will always be his first love, but some of the training he did in both sports when he was a kid is still done by him to this day....

ryan cvit · 01-29-2020, 05:54 PM

Ryan Cvitkovich was born with a hockey stick in hand, growing up in New York he was a natural Manhattan Rage fan and often attended games at Madison Square garden. Since pee wee he dominated the ice making his opponents look like 5 year olds, even when they were 5 year olds. Skating circles around the competition it was evident this kid was going to make it to the SHL. When he was just a 7th grader he set his high school varsity teams record with 250 points in 50 games as well as 124 goals. He was unstoppable. Not surprising to anyone, every college in the country was sending him full scholarship offers but he turned them down and played junior hockey in the OHL where he spent 2 seasons and amassed 214 total points before being taken 29thoverall by the Anchorage Armada (go boats) where he would begin his journey to becoming the greatest of all time.

(159 words)

Julio Tokolosh · 01-29-2020, 05:59 PM

Julio was born in Africa, as previous media states. He moved to the United States of America at a very young age, and settled in the rolling hills of central New York. Living on a farm in the beautiful Adirondacks was a dream come true. During his teenage years, there was a winter when the cow pond had frozen over and some mysterious scratch marks had appeared on the ice's surface. The curious calf waited until the next morning to see what had been going on out on the ice, and saw a group of kids gliding around on skates, moving a small cylinder around the ice. Julio was intrigued. As the kids left the ice, Julio went up to them to ask them what they were doing, and if he could try to play with them tomorrow. The children were horrified of the talking cow and ran away, terrified. In order to earn back their trust, he would have to learn their game on his own and feed them silky passes. He picked it up quickly, and was snapping it tape-to-tape in no time.

KillaScrilla · 01-29-2020, 06:45 PM

While growing up in Nashville, Tennessee young Trey Nets never even thought about playing hockey. Then around the age of 8 the Nashville Predators arrived . The city was excited and Trey went one weekend to watch with some friends and he loved it. It was fun, fast and there was fighting. After his father passed when he was 13 he moved with his aunt in New York. That’s where he really learned to play. He had a great shot but had never really skated. After some practice he had started getting the hang of it. He could at least stop without falling down which he considered a huge accomplishment. He had started playing youth hockey with friends where he would show up before practice and stay late after practice just skating. He’d do suicides and sprint from one end to the next and back. He got pretty good and was noticed by some coaches. After talks he decided this was the sport he wanted to continue playing and would be successful at no matter what.

awils13 · 01-29-2020, 07:12 PM

Aaron Wilson had a rather unusual journey to professional hockey as he was a huge basketball fan growing up and didn't start playing hockey until he was 14 years old. His dad took him to a Raptors game when he was 6 and Aaron fell in love with the game immediately. He would spend hours shooting a basketball in his backyard and dreamed of making it to the SBA. But one day his aunt took him ice skating for the first time and it turned out that he was a natural at it. A local high school coach noticed young Aaron at the rink and convinced him to come to a practice the next day. The coach then talked to Aaron's parents and told them that it wasn't too late to start playing hockey and that Aaron had a very real shot of having a professional career. 3 years later, Wilson was drafted 37th overall in the SMJHL draft by Vancouver Whalers.

*puolivalmiste* · 01-29-2020, 07:31 PM

When Viljami Leppänen was young he could not afford to buy SHL merc so when he got Firebirds cap as present from his uncle he became fan for life. When he got older and made it to roster of Rauman Jätkät he could finally show his love for the team. Here is photo of him teaching his son Björn how to block shots.

Emiko · 01-29-2020, 08:28 PM

Emiko started her early career watching Sapporo Inu's as a child. She'd always imagine playing for them with her friends Manto and Etsuko.

The first time she took to the ice was at the age of 7. She wasn't the best of skaters but she was made up for it all with her size on the ice. It wasn't until the age of 10 she got into a team as there wasn't any any teams in the area at that point. When she did join a team she ended up playing in goal due to her size and natural agility. Slowly but surely she started making a name for herself in the under 15s which led to her being offered a spot on Sapporo Inu's and was given the starting spot in her second season at the team.

By the time she left the Hokkaido Ice Hockey League she finished with a .935 Save Percentage and a 1.99 Goals against average and with a whopping 15 shutouts and 12 Assists in 86 games across 3 seasons before coming to the SMJHL.

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181 Words

**Rich** · 01-29-2020, 10:04 PM

Bobby Lane grew up in hockley country, so like many kids in that area, he started skating as soon as he was able to stand up with a pair of skates on. Organized hockey started at 5 for him. At that age, it is pretty much impossible to know how good anyone will be. Bobby was no exception. He really didn’t start to stand out until he was around 11. Not coincidentally, this is also about the same time he really started to fall in love with the game. Going through puberty as well, getting bigger, stronger and faster. He was playing a lot, and so his development accelerated very quickly during this time. By the time he turned 14 he was getting a lot of attention from scouts. Some junior hockey organizations were starting to take notice. Then, when the S49 SMJHL draft rolled around, he was taken 4th overall by the Montreal Militia.

Briedaqueduc · 01-29-2020, 11:10 PM

Simon's childhood was all about hockey. He started really young, because his dad and his older brothers were already playing. He wanted to do just like the grown-ups, so he pick up a stick basically as soon as he could walk. Then, he played a lot with kids in the neighborhood, because every kid plays hockey where LeBlanc comes from. He was a little bit better than these kids, because LeBlanc played hockey so much. His defensive play style was also present in his early days. It did drag him down, because he wouldn't like to go shoot on net at all. LeBlanc always has been crazy about hockey. During the winter, he was always outside playing, and during the summer, he would play dek hockey so that he could still play. No matter what was the weather outside or how much homework he had to do, he was always ready to play hockey.

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154 words

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*CptSquall* · 01-29-2020, 11:43 PM

Ruslan Zaporozhets childhood was one of relative poverty. Growing up largely in his mother's seamstress shop is no place for a young man. His father being off in Russia didn't help matters. So he managed to get himself into trouble with local authorities and other young boys. One of the few escapes came in the winter months. Hockey. Hockey brought friends, constructive camaraderie, and a father figure in the coaches. Soon the skill would follow, but there are only so many programs in the Ukraine to be had. Getting noticed didn't help enough however and it looked like his career was going to burn out. When he hit 15 came of age to be a Cossack and, the door was open to join his father in Russia. This meant access to the LEGENDARY Red Army hockey programmes. From there it was off to the races and now, as a 3rd year in the SMJHL is going to prove, Ruslan is here.

Velevra · 01-30-2020, 01:31 AM

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