Jump to content

jack

Inactive
  • Posts

    1,922
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

Posts posted by jack

  1.  

    image.png.fc13959ce121dfb247f6e3baaf07cdef.png

    Llandysul, Wales - 2019

     

    Childhood

     

    Fade in from black. Rolling green hills, dreary backdrop. A smattering of similar yet unique houses pepper the grass. Inside one of them sat an infant Thorny. His father a blacksmith, and his mother a barmaid. Two tough Welsh cookies. Thorny's childhood kept him within his hometown of Llandysul. There was never any reason to leave. In elementary school Underyew was exposed to a number of sports, and he tended to excel at those where he could use his strength. Rugby, lacrosse, a bit of soccer here and there. 

     

    Thorny's father Trahaearn often took his boy on walks through the Welsh countryside. He taught him the importance of self-reliance, strength, and health.

     

    Llandysul-panorama.jpg

     

    Secondary School

     

    The athletics prowess of Thorny offered him opportunities to travel within Wales. He often stayed in Cardiff, and eventually witnessed live ice hockey for the first time. The Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League have an established program and exciting atmosphere that immediately drew Thorny in. It was physical, it was fast, it was what Thorny wanted to do.

     

    "I had barely even heard of hockey before that night," Thorny recalls. "I immediately knew that this is what I wanted to pursue. I wanted to play hockey."

     

    Beginning hockey after the age of 15 is usually not a typical path towards elite play. But a certain amount of determination can sometimes outweigh negative factors. Underyew was forced to make a decision. Live with his family in Llandysul, and abandon his dreams? Or move to Cardiff and take a risk.

     

    We know what happened next.

     

    Thorny's size and strength convinced the coaching staff of Cardiff Devils affiliate program to coach Thorny over the summer. Throughout his youth Thorny had been working with his father, saving money, and building muscle.

     

    By the start of the season Thorny was skating as well as pretty much any 15-year-old Welshman could. Coaches wanted to see whether he could make use of his strength while in game situations.

     

    "The first game was eye-opening, to be honest," Thorny admitted. "I had doubts, I had second thoughts. But I didn't want to let down my parents. I didn't want to waste the effort I put it. I put my head down and got to work."

     

    And work he did. Thorny watched as many local Devils games as he could. He studied the patterns, he learned to position himself better than before, but he had a lot of catching up to do. 

     

    The next year Thorny played for the U18 Cardiff Junior Devils at the age of 18, playing for just a little over 12 months. 

     

    "That was a huge adjustment. I was essentially going from rec leagues to the most competitive league I could conceivably play in.

     

    "My teammates weren't really happy with my inexperience, my coaches were helpful but definitely hard on me. It was a draining year, physically and emotionally. But it transformed my playing completely."

     

    Thorny quickly showed that he could keep up in the league. He could score, he could make plays, and he could hit. His teammates could rely on him, and this helped his confidence in his game. Coaches could trust him in tense situations. Thorny started to excel. Every part of his game accelerated. He felt that becoming a pro was a realisable goal.

     

    Junior Team

     

    Image result for gb world junior team hockey

     

    "I was devastated."

     

    While Thorny was a long shot, he didn't make the cut for the U20 team when he was 17. Great Britain is not known as a hockey powerhouse, and if Thorny wanted to prove that he was someone to look out for, the U20 team was the place to do it.

     

    "But you have to keep moving forward." Thorny added.

     

    The following season he led the Cardiff Junior Devils in points, goals, hits, and ice time for a forward. He lead the powerplay, and he was captain of the team. Although generally soft-spoken and reserved on the ice, he did sometimes get into penalty trouble.

     

    Coach Cremon of the Junior Devils said "if I could just control his head, he'd be my ultimate player. Sometimes I don't know how to convince him to just play the game, not play the games of the opponents."

     

    After a hard fought playoffs, the Junior Devils came out victorious. Thorny celebrated with his teammates, coaches, and family, but had his sights set elsewhere.

     

    "That call was such a relief. I knew my hard work had paid off, this was my chance."

     

    Great Britain had a chance in the IIHF World Junior Championship, and Thorny would be on the team.

     

    All of the media attention was obviously focused on the big countries. Finland, Canada, US, Sweden, Russia. Some Czech and Slovakia thrown in. Nobody knew who Thorny Underyew was, and he was determined to change that.

     

    Different countries have different goals at the U20 Championship. Canada always wants gold. the US always wants to beat Canada. Finland and Sweden love to beat each other. But many of the lower countries are there to prove that they can at least compete, they are worthy of attending. Team Great Britain had been practicing together for months, playing against teams in the EIHL to practise. They were focused and coordinated.

     

    Their first match-up was relatively favourable: Latvia. The game ended 4-3, with Thorny showing up on the score sheet three times. One goal, one assist, and two minutes in the box for slashing. Game two was a stomp, with Great Britain falling under the giant foot that is Canada. 13-0 with only 15 shots on goal for Great Britain, four of which were Thorny's. A relatively valiant effort.

     

    The rest of the tournament went as predicted, but Thorny certainly stood out amongst his compatriots. He was the only one to score over five points, and he managed to get seven in four games, including one game where he had none. It was Great Britain's best showing in modern history. Scouts took notice, and an agent immediately contacted Thorny to gauge his professional interest.

     

    Within a few months, Thorny signed a brief contract with the Las Vegas Aces, and he will be entering the VHLM Draft that is rapidly approaching. Expect Thorny to make a splash as he enters the minor leagues, and watch out as he approaches the pros.

     

  2. 7 minutes ago, GustavMattias said:

     

    I upload everything to Imgur to post here, here are the links to a few posts. Not sure why, but I haven't grouped them all together in one post. I'm just not great at organization...

    https://imgur.com/a/ERnEzI5 (from the top down, this goes from oldest to newest. The last one is the last sig I made)

    https://imgur.com/a/5f1PlYa (here's my most recent graphic of any sort)

    https://imgur.com/a/7MnBqxV (here are a few I made to start--the top two (and I suppose the last one, technically) are my work, and the top one was my first attempt)

     

    Hope this works, and many thanks for the advice.

    I'll send you a writeup tomorrow hopefully!

  3. 1 minute ago, GustavMattias said:

    Pretty much just general stuff. I don't know of anything in particular that I should be working on, and I think that's part of the issue. I wouldn't say I'm bad for a relative beginner, but I'd just like to improve. Any way I could drop you a few things I've done recently for you to take a look?

    Definitely! You can upload them on dropbox or mega or whatever, I'll let you know what I think.

  4. 1. Surprised, maybe not, but I was pulling for Halifax!

    2. Unfortunately, the Senators.

    3. I think I'll be in the first round, so likely Ottawa/Philly/Minny/Yukon

    4. Great choices. I'd like to see a leadership award, or something that recognizes off-ice factors.

    5. I'm an old member, but I love having the VHL portal, makes improving myself much more rewarding.

    6. Cheesecake.

  5. On 6/18/2019 at 7:54 PM, FakeJenton said:

    Ace's Press Conference Questions (June 17-23)

     

    1. Unfortunately the Aces did not make the cut for the playoff's this season, so which team do you think is going to win it all?

     

    2. If you could change the Ace's color scheme to anything else, what would it be?

     

    3. As this season comes to an end, we will see a lot of players moving up to the VHL just after one season. Do you think is would be better to stay in the VHLM for an additional season or just move up to the VHL as soon as possible?

     

    4. The NHL Finals just wrapped up last week, are you happy to see the Blues hoist the cup for the first time? Who do you think are the early favorites for next season?

     

    5. If you could go back and start a new player right now, is there anything different you would do compared to your current player?

     

    6. What is your dream vacation spot?

     

    1. I have my money on Halifax!

     

    2. I do like the green and gold, feels like I'm rolling in dough. If I had to change I'd do purple and gold.

     

    3. If you've got the gusto, go for gold.

     

    4. I was most happy to see the Bruins lose, but seeing RoR hoist the cup was also special.

     

    5. Nope! Thorny is everything I want in a player.

     

    6. Central Europe! Hopefully going through someday soon.

  6. 4 minutes ago, Beketov said:

    That is all kinda of sexy. Best sig I’ve seen around these parts in awhile.

     

    PSD Share? Let’s start some of these old trends again. I’ll trade you any of the old ones I have lying around.

     

    Here are the 3 I've made since I've been back: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ktUL2PNX9pegGPjbAYyo3eW6q6a-IdAs?usp=sharing

     

    I'll probably just upload everything I make there, no point in hoarding :D 

  7. It's all about the context of the sig. I use Arial or Helvetica quite a lot, they're simple, but versatile. When I saw your sig I immediately thought of Swiss/Danish/Scandinavian graphic design, stuff like this:

     

    funen_2.jpeg?1438288079

    swiss.jpg

    amanda-and-erik-studio-graphicdesign-itsnicethat-03.jpg?1536849249

     

    They use simple fonts and focus a lot more on the composition and colours, but the results are really cool.

  8. Review: Nice first graphic! I don't make the rules but I'd say it fits right in! Not sure what software you're using, but if it's Photoshop or GIMP, I have a few suggestions: For the text, try match the colours to the piece a bit more, the black and white kind of clashes with the strong colour theme. Nice work on the jersey changes though, that effort is always appreciated. For the colour overlays, I'd try a different Blend Mode for the colour layers. Something like Lighten, Darken, Soft Light or Hue might bring everything together in a smoother way. Keep at it, and feel free to message or reply here if you have any questions!

×
×
  • Create New...