This rookie year has been a whirlwind experience for me. That all began with the prospect game. I came onto a great Lions team filled with some great prospects like Fleming, Hoover, Clayton, and Maximova. It was a great experience as I got to grow with all of these people that I would be playing with/competing against in the SMJHL. Everyone was really friendly, and really seemed passionate about the game.

The next part of the rookie experience was, of course, the draft. It was a day that had me shaking from head to toe. I was nervous, anxious, excited, scared, happy, it really put me through the emotional gauntlet. I felt as if I had done a lot to elevate my draft stock through my media and my performance at the Prospect Showcase. Even through my combine interviews, I was adamant about letting teams know that I was dedicated to being the very best player on the ice. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to shake out like that.

As soon as the draft began, it was all about patience. The first round was almost a foregone conclusion. Jesster, Wind, Vilhjalmsson, Hoover, Salabanzi, Webb, the names were more than expected to be in the upper echelon. By the end of the second round frustration set in, and I was disappointed that teams just didn't have the faith in me. Another round went by, and still my name was not called. The picks were coming in fast and furious, but my wait almost seemed eternal. The fourth round came and went and I couldn't believe it. Nasher went off the board in the fifth, Wolff after him, and Zavstrom shortly after that. I was beginning to think I was going to slide even further until JHS stepped up to the podium,

Quote:Originally posted by JHS@Jun 9 2015, 08:48 PM
WITH THE 28TH OVERALL PICK,

THE VANCOUVER WHALERS SELECT

GEOFFREY ALLEN-RW

STEAL OF THE DRAFT! WELCOME GSEEFELDT

I'm not going to lie, it was a bittersweet feeling. I was happy to be drafted, but I felt slighted to have fallen so far. From that moment on, I told myself that I was going to live up to my billing as the steal of the draft. I was better than the fifth round and I was going to prove it.

I came into the locker room and immediately felt welcomed with open arms. The Whalers were a team that perennial winners. They had a long lineage of success and that was the type of place I wanted to be. All of the current players and alumni seemed very dedicated to helping, and ensuring that us rookies were comfortable with our new surroundings. I got great help from guys like D'Amour, Bure, Lundqvist, and Barbashev. This was a family and I felt lucky to be here.

The preseason came and we absolutely killed it, winning all 10 games. I had a meager performance, contributing only 3 goals and 2 assists over that span. This was not the player that I wanted for myself, nor the player I wanted for my teammates. I decided that I was going to drive myself by pain and resentment. Zach Hoover had come onto the team as a first round draft pick, selected fourth overall. I made it my mission to best him. Nothing personal, he's probably the nicest guy you'll ever meet, but I wanted to show that I was worth that pick as well, and JHS had done a great thing by picking me so late in the draft.

The regular season was rocky, we started off with a bad losing streak after the trade of Richard D'Amour. One of the anchors of our blue line was gone and it affected our defensive zone play tremendously. I watched Hoover come out and contribute to his point tally night in and night out, while I posted a point here and there with little consistency. I was bounced around from the first and second lines, not really carving out a niche or building a rapport with any of my linemates. IT didn't come til the end of the season when Originsz decided to tool around with the lines. I found myself flanking Jack Durden with Patrikov Bure on the other wing. Once this happened, I knew I had found a home. We set the world on fire and finished our last twenty games of the regular season 12-6-2, the hottest team in the league.

As for the points race, I got extremely hot at the end of season and found myself one point out from Hoover. I busted my ass and made the best of every opportunity on the ice. I finished the season 4th in point totals for rookies behind Jesster, Wind, and Falk. I posted 38 points on the season with 14 goals and 24 assists. This entire season has been a whirlwind for me, and I'm ready to elevate my game to the next level for the playoffs.