Mistxh J

Let's go bro!!!!!

Waking up this morning was probably the most excited I have been since I first picked up a hockey stick, the VHLM draft was happening and I had a lot of preparing to do. My day started with getting my condo cleaned up, inviting my friends and family over and prepping the dinner menu! But the constant nerves flowing through my body and the anxiety of when or if I would get picked tonight loomed over me more than ever before (I'm pretty sure I switched shirts 5 times from all the sweat that was coming out of me!). Fast forward to 8pm EST, the draft has started, I was projected to be picked around the 37 overall pick but my expectations were lower. Having a slower progression than imagined would do that to you. Everything changed when the 3rd round came around and we all heard.. "With the 32nd pick in the VHLM, the San Diego Marlins pick LW Nicholas Mariani". Oh the excitement flowed right through the room... nachos and wings flew off the plates everyone was holding my friends and family cheered and all rushed towards me to celebrate the most life changing day of my life! Fast forward to now and the feeling I have is still just as unbelievable as it was when I heard my name being called out on the TV. I am beyond grateful for @thadthrasher and the Marlins taking a chance on me an drafting me, it means the world! All that's left to be said is this, Let's get to work and bring home a cup for San Diego!! 

Waking up this morning was probably the most excited I have been since I first picked up a hockey stick, the VHLM draft was happening and I had a lot of preparing to do. My day started with getting my condo cleaned up, inviting my friends and family over and prepping the dinner menu! But the constant nerves flowing through my body and the anxiety of when or if I would get picked tonight loomed over me more than ever before (I'm pretty sure I switched shirts 5 times from all the sweat that was coming out of me!). Fast forward to 8pm EST, the draft has started, I was projected to be picked around the 37 overall pick but my expectations were lower. Having a slower progression than imagined would do that to you. Everything changed when the 3rd round came around and we all heard.. "With the 32nd pick in the VHLM, the San Diego Marlins pick LW Nicholas Mariani". Oh the excitement flowed right through the room... nachos and wings flew off the plates everyone was holding my friends and family cheered and all rushed towards me to celebrate the most life changing day of my life! Fast forward to now and the feeling I have is still just as unbelievable as it was when I heard my name being called out on the TV. I am beyond grateful for @thadthrasher and the Marlins taking a chance on me an drafting me, it means the world! All that's left to be said is this, Let's get to work and bring home a cup for San Diego!! 

I rerolled so I felt like a new signature was due.

This article is basically gonna be my thoughts on how the standings will play out and who will make they playoffs and what not so yeah, hope you enjoy.
NA Conference:
 
At the top of the table in the NA conference I think a lot of the top teams form last season will stay up there. Neither Chicago, Seattle or Vancouver lost a lot of strength in the off season, after that are the interesting choices. I think the LA stars will break there curse and make the post season along with Toronto who are coming off there rebuild. It will be very close I think but for me LA has too many good pieces for them not to succeed, although that's been the truth for past seasons. The D.C. dragons have some very good high-end players but there depth concerns me a bit, they remind a bit of Malmo from last season. Calgary can also be good but I think Toronto and LA have the edge on goaltending and defense there. New York will be last........ sorry.         
 
EU Conference:
 
Unlike the NA conference there is more movement at the top as London advance from 6th to 1st. There massive offseason acquisitions of Jacob Tonn and Mikko Lahtinen put them in win now mode and make them favourites to top the conference. Warsaw will finish high once again as there roster is still strong and Helsinki, Riga and Prague should all have similar seasons. Malmo will miss the playoffs for the second time after winning the continental cup as they look to enter a rebuild with a new Gm. Moscow will be in a identical situation which means they will most likely fall to the bottom half of the standings. Davos will also finish near the bottom looking for a fresh start with some young prospects.

Going Home
 
Going home, for most people, is something we are seemingly driven to do.  What pulls us back to our roots.  It could be, in part, the family that we have and the corresponding emotional ties.  It could be reconnecting with old friends and colleagues.  Perhaps it is revisiting childhood places and the memories that those places evoke.  Or is it merely a general feeling of nostalgia?  There is also a train of thought that suggests the trajectory of our lives is sort of like moving from one room into another with no room being the same.  So we are driven to see what is beyond the next door.  Whatever the cause, Isau decided to return to Swords for a visit during the off-season.  After disembarking in Toronto from the airliner from Frankfurt (there is no direct flight to Riga), Isau collected his bike from long-term storage and was off to Swords.
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On arriving in Swords, Isau immediately went to visit his parents whom he hadn’t seen for more than a year.  The reunion was as these reunions go with Doris (Isau’s mom) checking her hockey player son for missing teeth and new scars.  Somewhat later, after enjoying Doris’ “Fabulous Chicken Dinner”, Isau was relaxing with his dad, Fred, on the front porch.  Both men were tipped back on old kitchen chairs, sipping some of the “Good Stuff” and appreciating the quiet dark evening.  
 
Fred asked, “So, do you think it was preordained that you would be playing hockey way over there in Europe ?  I been thinking a lot about that stuff and it seems that life just sort of
happens to us due to no fault of our own.”

 
Isau replied,”Well, I guess it was in the cards that I would be playing pro hockey somewhere, but I don’t think that the location was ever engraved in stone.  Also, in the string of time, we can learn from the past but it is already written as history so it can’t be changed.  What we can change to a certain extent, is what we do with our gifts.  That’s why I will be going back to Riga shortly to work with the development team to improve my skills.  Dad, I think you got too much time on your hands and too little Wiser’s left in the bottle.  Never heard you wax philosophical before.”

 
Fred ruminated on this for a bit and said,” Isau, me and your mom worry about you a bit, being so far from home and all.  Did you meet some good folks over there ?  People that make you happy ?”
 
“Of course,” Isau replied, “  The General Manager of the  Reign, @hedgehog337, has been very helpful in teaching me about Latvian life as well as how to become a better player.  Another player who is very active in the Locker Room is @Ledge_and_Dairy.  He is knowledgeable and straightforward.  The only knock would be that he is a Habs fan, but I guess you can’t really hold that against him.  Nikki (Starr) is over there with me and she is very supportive.  So, ya, things are going real well.”
 
In subsequent days, Isau hung out with some of his old friends and reminisced about their youth and catching up on local events.  Tommy “Tutone” Horn announced to Isau is his nasal drone:
“A few weeks ago a biker dude with a "Rock Machine" patch rode his motorcycle into town. His throat was parched, so he parked his ride in front of the local bar and went in for a drink. He came out a few minutes later, and someone had stolen his bike.
 
The locals were looking to see his reaction, they weren’t even discreet about it. The biker dude looked around at everyone and growled loud and clear: “I will walk back into the bar to get myself another drink, and if I don’t see my ride right in front of the bar, I will have to do what I did in Montreal a year ago after someone stole my bike. And trust me, I didn’t like what I had to do in Montreal a year ago.”
 
After his confident speech, the man walked back into the bar. The townsfolk looked at each other in fear and got the motorcycle back.
 
The burly biker finished his second drink and walked out of the bar, and got on his bike, but just before he left the bartender walked up to him and asked. “Hey, Dude, we know that we got you your bike back, but do you mind telling us what you had to do a year ago in Montreal?”
 
The biker looked at him with an iron gaze and responded: “I had to walk home.”
 
Isau groaned, “And that’s news !!!”
 
“So,” enquired Tutone, “how’s Nikki doing ?  I see she isn’t with you on this trip ?”
 
“Yup,” replied Isau, “She is doing just great.  Loves it in Riga and has become involved in a few Animal Rights activist stuff.  She couldn’t make it back to Swords because she and her friend , Gail Force, had to go to a rally on saving the whales,......  or maybe it was lemmings>  I kind of lose track of which critter she is currently promoting.  But it is all good!”
 
“Do you remember the time,” Tutone mused, “when we were playing shinny out on Maple Lake and that hockey scout dude who was fishing out there came over and fetched you off to Mexico to play hockey for the Mexico City Kings?”
 
“Ya, that was quite the thing.”
 
“So, all sun and senoritas, aye, Isau?”
 
“Well it wasn’t quite like that.  In Mexico hockey became a business.”
 
With this last comment Isau realized that it was time to get back to Riga and the grind of training in preparation for the next season.
 
He said fond goodbyes to his mom and dad, took one last look around and announced in his best Arnie accent, “I’ll be back !”
 

 
As he was leaving Toronto Isau felt relaxed and fulfilled.  He was ready to get back to Riga and recommit himself to developing his skills and to contributing to the team’s success in the upcoming season.
 
Word Count: 1025
Claiming for March 21 and 28

@Devise
 
trying new things mostly under the influence need feedback

1. I think what excites me the most is the learning process. Being new to it all i cant wait to get started and grow, love the people i have interacted with and i just hope to grow fast and play the best hockey i can!
2. Well in the beginning i could have cared less who i played for, i just wanted to play and earn my spot.. some of that stays with me now but being drafted by prague i just cant wait till i get called up and play for the boys.
3. My pre-game ritual usually consists of showing up to the game early.. taking first skate on the ice (all while listening to music) take a couple laps before ripping a couple shots before going back in, but only have i hit the top left, top right, and bar down center 3 times each in that order.
4. I usually have 2 playlists i rotate, one with more rap and hip hop (called my 'good vibes' playlist) and then i got my Rock music playlist, usually involves classic and some heavy rock. Depending my mood or whats on the line determines my music choice, my rock is to really pump me up and gets me going while my rap one is to just get me in the zone and focused in.
5. If i didnt play hockey it would football..
 No hesitation.
6. The worst injury i have had was most probably when i broke my left arm in 3 places (1 bone completely broke while the other 2 were fractures). Got it done to me after some practice shenanigans lead to a really dumb idea, next thing i knew i took a bad fall that just snapped my arm, but it was in my early years and now its stronger than ever!