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jakey.peach · 10-26-2020, 11:57 AM

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2002 words

Two years ago, while playing for a minor team in Switzerland, I was called off of the ice during a training session by my head coach. Making sure I was in top shape for the upcoming year, I was red in the face and could tell I had been going hard, and might need some extra rest tonight. As I made my way to the bench, I could tell my coach was excited about something. She had that wry smile that betrayed her German sensibility (and what I called a lack of emotion), a slight smirk that she had when she was aware of something you hadn’t realized yet. I approached the bench and asked if everything was going okay.

“Congratulations, Jonas. You were drafted”.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that.

I had declared a bit late for the draft, and hadn’t heard a lot of chatter from the SMJHL teams that made up the league. They had just expanded from 10 to 12 teams, with two new franchises opening up their inaugural year after this draft. More teams mean more opportunities for showcasing your talent... something I was hoping would work in my favour. As a teenager out in Switzerland, I wasn’t sure if I would attract any attention from the North American leagues like the SMJHL. I had no scouts visit me, and I filled out the necessary application forms, but otherwise felt a little out of touch with what was going on. I felt like life and the league was moving fast, and I wasn’t quite sure if I was ready to put my feet down on this racetrack and hit the ground running without stumbling. But, I wanted to start somewhere.

By the time the Season 56 SMJHL Entry Draft had ended, 74 prospects had been drafted. I had been selected fourth to last, or 70th out of the 74. This was after many teams had started passing their picks each round, so technically I was drafted 91st overall. I knew it was a stacked year, and given the skill and pedigree of many of the prospects that had declared, I wasn’t holding my breath to be drafted high, or at all, for that matter. I was content in going up through the Swiss leagues and the European circuit, but I have always wanted to push myself against the best of the best and see how long I can keep up. So I ended up declaring, and to my pleasant surprise the Quebec City Citadelles, one of the two expansion clubs, took a chance on Jonas Caspari out of Switzerland in the latest of late rounds of their inaugural draft.

Getting off of the plane and making myself familiar with Quebec City, as well as Canada as a whole, was strange. On the one hand, thanks to my birth city and schooling there, I was fluent in Swiss (Swiss-German), English, and French. While I was the least comfortable speaking French, it appeared I was the only player selected by Quebec from the expansion draft and the regular draft combined to speak the local language! I wasn’t recognized on the street much at all, but those who did place my face were sure to mention how they were glad at least someone on the ice spoke French (Although they made it abundantly clear I spoke it with a European French dialect, which they were far less glad about). For the last two season, I’ve been teaching some of my teammates the basics for conversing with French fans and officials (you know, the usual stuff: greetings, common phrases, and vile obscenities). On the plus side, I have never been more comfortable with my French, and my other two languages ensures I can converse with the rest of the team (most speak English, and our Emergency Back Up Goalie, Tobias Ray, is also from Switzerland and is pleasant to speak Swiss-German to).

Upon getting to know the team and participating on the ice with them, I quickly realized just how far ahead the SMJHL was above my Swiss minor league. Everyone there was hungry and had the skill to match, and I immediately found myself chasing around more people in scrimmages than I ever had difficulties with before. Not only my teammates, but opponents as well. The players here were two steps faster, stronger, and a small mistake was more easily punished. It was still a development league, but the players that signed up here were here with one goal in mind… making it to the SHL. A fair few players declare for the SMJHL, many get drafted, some get drafted into the SHL, and fewer make it to the league and have at least a half-decent career.

My game has never been flashy, and even in the minor leagues my numbers weren’t outstanding.I knew if I wanted a place on an SMJHL team, even an expansion team full of rookies, it would likely be my hustle and willingness to get into the dirty areas of play that would earn me a roster spot. I am what you would call a “grinder”, and I specialize in going into the boards hard, and I got pretty good at always hounding the puck and getting to a more offensively-gifted teammate. I had racked up a lot of assists simply from being the one to start a play by hunting down the puck, and puck carrier if need be. My game has always had a physical edge, one I have not been afraid to shy away from, and scouts had mostly been impressed by my rough-and tumble game and my puck-fetching abilities more than anything.

Even then, I was largely outclassed by the impressive squad there in QCC for their first season, and despite being signed soon after the draft and being available the whole time, my play fell behind a fair bit. I found myself scratched for many of the games, and only played 21 of the 50 games in the regular season… most of them either in the first couple of weeks. I had earned 8 points, but hadn’t exactly wowed in the other aspects of my game. You know, the things that were supposed to be my bread and butter when it came to how I am built. Starting with 3rd line minutes, slipping to 4th line minutes, and then warming up the press box was a rough slide for me.

What was eventually the hardest kick in the ass for my rookie year was when I was scratched for the playoffs. Yes, the entire playoffs. I wasn’t producing well on the ice at that point, and my development had completely stalled compared to my peers. Credit to the management at Quebec, they had better options and they took them, paying it off by making it to the second round of the playoffs in their first season as a team largely full of rookies. I knew that if I wanted back on the ice for game time next season, I would need to earn the right to not be bruising my ass in the press box.

The offseason rolled around, and I got back to some more training, seeing at least some improvement on my game, when I was blindsided for the second time in as many months in regards to my selection for something. RancidBudgie, the GM of DACH, called up asking if I would be willing to represent the team in the upcoming WJC.

I obviously jumped on the chance, but was a bit perplexed as to why I had made the team as a rookie who had by comparison to others in the S56 draft class an awful year? He made two things clear: he agreed I had an awful year and had some room for improvement, but that he liked that I was trying to make myself better, and selected me for the team over others who might be better suited for DACH right now, but who hadn’t been improving from that point for months or even years.

In the end, it was a valuable experience for me at the World Juniors. Even though I was playing 4th line minutes, averaging a little over 6 minutes a game, I got in on the action and felt good being part of the team, motivating me to keep pushing forward. I even got a point during the tournament, and finished a +2, so there were small victories to be proud of.

At the end of the season, it looked like I might not even be drafted to the SHL, which would likely have meant for me to head back to Switzerland or scrape my way back on to the Citadelles for a juniors contract. On the eve of the draft, again I was surprised to get a call. Just the one, mind you, but it was enough. A representative of the LAP, Sve7en, reached out and saw that I was still fighting to improve, despite my regressions. Like my situation at DACH, I was garnered interest simply because people saw I was trying to better myself, even if there are better options out there right now. After a quick chat, I was a little less surprised than usual to find that the next evening, I had been chosen by LAP, this time 51st overall. By then a few of my SMJHL fellows had dropped off the map and back to their local leagues, so the draft class was smaller than before. But I had managed to at least make it this far, and get drafted late in the game, and hey it was still 40 places earlier than my last draft. So I saw that as a sign of improvement.

This current season, just before the close of the regular schedule, I can say that I have definitely improved my game. I’m not at the level of many of my contemporaries, and I probably won’t catch up, and I think I’m okay with that, as long as I’m still improving at a rate where the SMJHL can still find me useful. So far, with only 3 games left to go in the season I have played all 47 games for QCC and have already doubled my points from last year with 16. Granted, I doubled my games played, so my ppg is about where you’d expect it, but I’m glad I am staying consistent. I still need to buckle down on my defensive game, but this season I got some coaching that really improved my game. I spend almost all of my money getting it, but it has been a huge help so far. My first game after purchasing the training, I got two assists and was the second star for the game. Some people might chalk that up to the placebo effect, but I am fine with that as long as it works!

Going into the playoffs, Quebec City is looking to make some noise again, and push even farther in than we did last time. I’m glad that this time I have a chance of being a part of that. You can bet that I’m going to give it my all for the games that matter most.

I am hoping to continue my SHL journey, and looking back I have realized something. That I am always surprised at my own success, and maybe need to celebrate the small victories a little more. I was surprised to be drafted to the SMJHL, surprised to make it on team DACH, and surprised to be drafted to the SHL. If the people at the SHL have shown me anything, like Evok or Sve7en or RancidBudgie, it is that perseverance is rewarded and you can find a place as long as you are improving, no matter what pace that is at. Right, now, I’d be surprised to make it a good SHL career given how far behind I fell.

But hey, I’ve made a career for myself on being surprised, right?

***bluesfan55*** · 10-26-2020, 12:13 PM

can't wait to see you in the IIHF tournament down the road!

ty to @High Stick King @EvilAllBran and @Ragnar for the sigs

Salming · 10-26-2020, 12:32 PM

Fascinating article =) Great job mate. You will have a bright future.

Matteo · 10-26-2020, 12:58 PM

Tu est un beauty Citadelles

***sve7en*** · 10-26-2020, 03:50 PM

Yesssss, can't wait to see what you become!

Panthers

*slothfacekilla* · 10-26-2020, 03:52 PM

Great read, glad to have you in the LAP system Smile

Evok · 10-26-2020, 03:57 PM

hell yeah lets go boy!
No regrest picking you! and probably never gonna regret this, nor will i never regret yelling at @sve7en until he picked you

***Faelax*** · 10-26-2020, 04:09 PM

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