As a rookie in the SMJHL, you're taking the same first steps today's SHL greats took all those seasons ago. Tell us about the player(s) you look up to and are aiming to emulate.
Requirements
Written option: Must include 200 words and some reference to build attributes and/or stats of both yourself and at least one player currently in the SHL.
Graphic option: Must include two renders and at least three different build attributes and/or stats of both yourself and at least one player currently in the SHL.
Payout
4 TPE for doing the thing. (Just one option, not both.)
Only S38 SMJHL Rookies (S39 SHL Rookies) are eligible for this PT.
Do not claim this TPE until a post is made in the claim thread.
As a young hockey player growing up in Germany, I couldn't always catch live SHL games when they aired on television, which wasn't incredibly often as our domestic league was more popular for quite a while. That meant that it took extra work to find clips of players who I could shape my game after; the hockey heroes I would look up to. The first one that springs to mind is Cole Reinhart, who is a bit of a folk legend for German players hoping to make the jump to North America. Reinhart retired a long time ago, though, and the game has changed since then. There are a pair of active SHL players who I think I look up to currently, and the both happen to play for the Manhattan Rage. They are Winston Windsor and Wyatt Wøllker.
I think it would be a mistake to suggest that I've modelled my game after them; rather, I've zeroed in on these players because in them I see attributes that I share. The strengths in their game are very similar to my own, and through their success I can find ways in which I can also have success by utilizing those same strengths. Both of these players are complete defencemen who can do it all.
In Windsor, I really admire his ability to both distribute or hold-onto the puck, keeping it safe either way. Windsor is also incredibly responsible in his own zone without being overly physical – he's a smart player who is always in position and knows how to use his stick. These are all things I think I share with Windsor, and hopefully I will be able to develop my skills to the same level. I see a lot of the same things in Wøllker, but one thing that he really excels at where Windsor does not is his skating. Few defencemen can blaze up the ice the way Wøllker can, and that's always been the case for me. I've seen a difference since coming to the SMJHL where the game is faster, but I want to keep working on my skating and always be one-step ahead of the opposition.
As far as left wings are concerned for the Latvian Romualds Loks one player was someone he looked up to. A real Latvian offensive threat Oliver Pettyfer was among the best players to ever play for Latvia. However, nowadays there aren't many great Latvian players left in the league so someone else to look at had to be found.
For Romualds his favorite player to watch is the Winnipeg Jets left wing Corey Bears. Although many would consider him as a two-way forward, his previous season was one to watch with him wrapping up 57 points in regular season. Arguably one of the best left wings of the current time, Romualds really looks forward to replicate his success in the SHL in the seasons to come.
Romualds Loks has been criticized a lot about his defensive workload which has seen him lose both minutes and his performance in the SMJHL. That's something he should really learn from Corey who is a real showcase of a forward working himself both in defense and attack.
I want to emulate a player who has does everything needed. A player who is defensively minded, scores goals, makes the pass, and a good teammate. I looked all over the SHL and found a two-way forward named Dani Forsberg of the Calgary Dragons. Mind you he plays the wing while I, Fenton Uriel, play center. Dani Forsberg has won countless trophies and made his name known through the SHL League. I plan aswell to make my name known throughout the league for being a defensive forward, and scoring forward, and great teammate to have. If that isn't something to emulate then I don't know what is.
Dani Forsberg has similar idea's as mine. I am still young in my SMJHL/SHL career so I won't bother focusing on the strength attribute's he has chosen to follow, but the way he builds himself. Dani Forsberg has a very good range of attributes. I love that he gets himself to an impressive 85 defense to help his team out and then puts points into scoring and skating to benefit the offensive side. I want to emulate this perfectly except instead of 95 scoring, I prefer 95 passing. I feel a great center needs to control the ice and play.
As I grow in this league I may distance myself from Dani's playstyle but I don't disregard that it's something to go for. He has won countless trophies and hopefully one day you will see the name Fenton Uriel on countless trophies aswell.
It was just a couple of years ago when Norway won their most recent IIHF silver medal, but Jon Tellofsen remembers the first time Norway claimed IIHF second place, back when he was just nine years old.
"I remember it very vividly, being at home with my father and us watching the game together", Tellofsen reminisces, "He wasn't exactly a hockey fan himself, but with Norway having a good team, he followed them along the tournament in S29. The matches were so fast-paced, both intense and exciting. That tournament was one of the most influential experiences of my life, as I'm pretty sure it's what convinced my younger self to start playing hockey."
While Norway has celebrated many great players over the seasons, especially defenseman, Tellofsen fondly recalls his memories of his favourite player to watch while growing up, Éibhear Sorensen. Currently a free agent on the SHL market, Sorensen was an all-star SMJHL player, patrolling the blue-line for two consecutive Four-Star Cups with the Kelowna Knights in S31 and S32.
"He plays quite the unique game", Tellofsen says of his idol, "almost a rover-type positioning with a freewheeling offensively dominant style. His superior skating ability and stickwork allowed him to get anywhere on the ice he needed to be to make his play."
While he has certainly picked up pieces of Sorensen's style, Tellofsen amends that he doesn't see himself as a carbon copy of the younger Sorensen. "I definitely can't pull off that rover style of play like he [Sorensen] can", Tellofsen laments, "but I do find I can play a stronger physical game than his style allowed: I take the body more, wearing the opposition down over the game rather than outmaneuver them."
Despite being of a similar height and build, Tellofsen definitely shows a more physical presence in his game, dishing out 49 hits for his St. Louis Scarecrows over this current S38 SMJHL Preseason. The young rookie hopes to develop in the SMJHL just like his heroes before him - and also, Tellofsen hopes, to match their hardware too.
Growing up, there were not a lot of SHL teams around me, but my dad had moved from Minnesota to Grand Haven to work for a company that had recruited him. He taught me about hockey when I was a little kid, and his favorite team was always the Minnesota Chiefs. Because of that, even though I grew up surrounded by Toronto fans, I have always been a Chiefs fan, and Alonzo Garbonzo has always been my favorite player.
Growing up, I modeled my entire game after Garbonzo. He's a pass first guy with a rating of 99, but he also has a deadly shot at 90. It's only my first junior season, but I'd say I'm already on my way to being the next Garbonzo, my passing is already rated 70 and my scoring is already rated 60. I'll be putting up points like that all star before anyone knows. But as two-way defensemen, we both understand the importance of playing solid D. If we were there just to score we'd be playing offense. Garbonzo is rated 99 for defense, and I'm already rated 71.
In a year or two I'm gonna be the one winning Stevens trophies, I'll do him one better by making the all-star team instead of just getting honorable mention. The SHL might be a tough league, but I'm gonna finesse it into submission.
My fucking idol is none other than Hamilton Steelhawk Adam Kaiser. The 6'3" rearguard from Red Deer is an inch taller than myself and only 10lbs lighter but we are very similar in stature. My favourite thing about Adam is his big, hard and powerful cannon shot. I one day hope to have a similar shot but Kaiser has 97 for power and mine is only at 71 but I am working on it. Typically when you see a defender who is over the six foot threshold you expect a big checker but that does not ring true for either of us. We make our bread and butter with above average skating and superb defensive positioning; Kaiser is among the best in the SHL at defending and his skating is quite good. I hope one day to see myself rated 99 at defence like Adam.
While we are very similar there are some differences that may see us take different paths. Kaiser is not known for his strength and while his 80 is passable it is unlikely to ever be in the upper echelon of defenders. I plan on building my strength to a level that will allow me to be a trusted option in the crease. I also think that Kaiser has excellent puck handling skills but I plan on being one of if not the best puck handling blue-liner in the entire league when all is said and done.
As a young hockey player in Liechtenstein, travelling to neighboring countries to play and watch hockey was a necessity. So often during my formative years, my parents would take me into Germany to go watch the top level tournaments. It was during one of those tournaments that I remember seeing Geronimo Otto for the first time.
Now it's easy to look at the player that he is today, but I will be the first to tell you that the same attributes that bring him to be the top assist man in the SHL (as of this writing) were very evident when he was younger. Not only a blessed skater, his keen awareness on the ice set him apart from everybody that he played with. The old adage is that great players see the game in slow motion, or see a play a few seconds before it actually happens. If that's the case, Geronimo saw the play while he was still in the locker room getting dressed. And forget slow motion, there were times when it looked like everybody else was on Pause. His puck handling is second to none, and if you've ever seen him undress a defenseman, only to throw a perfect saucer pass to a wide-open teammate, you know what I'm talking about.
I remember after the first time seeing him play, I told my father on our trip home that I wanted to be just like Geronimo when I grew up. Being a great dad, he told me that if I worked hard enough, I could accomplish anything. To now be in the SMJHL, and know that there is a possibility that I could get to play in the same league as him is amazing to me. I try every day to practice my skills as I imagine he did. We're talking about a guy who won the Top Rookie Prospect award and a Four-Star Cup in his rookie season in the SMJHL, not to mention several IIHF medals!
He, in fact, is the reason why I chose jersey #17 as a youth -- it was the inverse of his #71. I figured that's as close as I could ever imagine coming to being the same type of player as he is.
Growing up I looked up to a lot of NHLers. Tough D men like Scott Stevens, Chris Pronger, and Mathias Ouland. Big, physical Defensemen who got the job done in their own end first and translated that into success in the other end. But when I started looking at the SHL and chose it as my path, only one big name stuck out to me like this.
Clint Eastwood.
Clint is a Defense first defenseman who’s tough, gritty, no nonsense play his inspired me to follow in his skate strides. His 93 Overall Defense is a height most D men aspire to achieve. I may only be at 69 Overall, but i will get there one day. His Strength, oh man his strength. You cant knock this guy off the puck, he'll just keep going. Add in his Puck Handling and you will lose on the rush. He'll take the puck from you, then keep it, then send it up the ice. Honestly though, being Drafted so soon by the Kelowna Knights and actually MEETING my SHL Idol? That’s the kind of dream you only get when your a star.
His style i play is everything I aspire to be, if a little more physical
The player I look up to the most isn't quite the exact same as me. While I'm a playmaking winger, Tigole Bitties is a centre sniper. He has put forward enough effort that now that even though he is only in his first SHL season, he's already a huge impact player for the Edmonton Blizzard. I got to see him play a couple seasons ago and thought he was fantastic back then. The fact that he worked so hard to prepare himself to be 100% SHL ready for his rookie season is truly inspiring to see as a young player. Just like what I hope to be able to do, he put a lot of his focus on his Skating and Puck handling (90) while not ignoring the defensive side of the game (86). While I have nowhere near the experience of him, I put my focus in a similar place with 70 in my Skating, Puck Handling and Defense.
Despite being a scorer, rather than a passer, Tigole Bitties has many aspects to his game that I have immense respect for. His leaps of progress in development along with his similar focus of skills makes him a perfect role model for me, as a player, going forward.
Being Canadian and being a two-way forward, there are few role models in the league that are as good to look up to as Derrick Glover. Being an S32 player, Glover is still young, but he still exemplifies what Manning wants to progress into. Growing up, it was easy to look at superstars like Randy Randleman and Schnitinfritz Jagr who have been in and dominated the league for so long. Those guys are legends, and Randleman is everyone's favourite old time hockey player. But more recently, Derrick Glover has given Carter Manning that a Canadian two-way center can make an impact on the league. Glover has worked his way onto the IIHF Canada squad, holding down the 3rd line. It is a thankless position, but Glover does his job well, playing defence and winning face offs. In the SHL, Glover is more free to be an offensive player. He scored 40 points in 50 games last season and has given hope to young defensive forwards everywhere that they can make an impact in a scorer's league. Glover has 3 important stats that Manning wants to emulate as soon as possible: 90 endurance, 85 face-offs, and 90 defence. Manning needs about 15-20 points in each of those skills to catch up, but in time they will get there. Glover being the player he is encourages Manning to continue working to get there.
Growing up, my coaches always emphasized how important it was to play a complete game, on all parts of the ice. I’ve tried to take that to heart, and even though I don’t fit the stereotype of a hard-hitting, crease-clearing defender, I always do my best to be responsible in my own end, as well as moving the puck into the neutral zone and offensive zone.
With that sort of game in mind, who better for a young Raiders defenseman to emulate than our former captain, Toivo Kosonen? What a player! Though Toivo has put more emphasis on developing his scoring skill than I will, his ability to move the puck and be useful in both ends of the ice at such a high level is exactly what I want to emulate.
The thing I really admire about Toivo is that he does it all with skill. He’s really not a guy to body people off of the puck. He’s not easy to knock around, but he does his best work with his stick and his positioning, in his own end, and then he’s a great threat to pass and shoot in the opponent’s end. I’ll always be more of a pass-first guy in the offensive zone, whereas he is a better shooter, but I hope to be a threat in that way, as well.
Halfdan Thorstein has amazing scoring and passing. I think that I want to have a really good and well rounded player like he has. I have high scoring and passing but not really much of anything else. I am doing my best to honestly build my defense and skating up to the best of my abilities. He is also a winger like me as well as an offensive forward. Although I am a playmaker, my new line in Kelowna may have me change that into an offensive forward because my new centerman is also a playmaker. I find the first couple of games to be rough because I just got around 30 tpe the day after my points got updated. So the pre season and the first few games have been kind of rough for me at least. My clear lack of defense hurts. I am really kicking myself for putting 81 in scoring to start. If I could redo it I would have put 79 in that and the other 8 tpe into defense or skating. It is coming along, although I am lucky to be able to keep up with the tasks so I can ideally catch up. I feel that when I do though, my player is going to be very good. And I do not have to worry about scoring anytime soon if that helps to give me any sort of happiness.
Jenny![[Image: thistidalwave.gif]](http://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/thistidalwave.gif)
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Cal Juice ![[Image: RyzkmSj.png]](https://i.imgur.com/RyzkmSj.png)
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