Between A Rock and A Rookie Season

[Phil 5,129]

Between A Rock and A Rookie Season

 

Phil “The Rock” Johnson’s Rookie campaign has been by no means a fairytale. It has been full of disappointment and darkness. Come to think of it, it’s actually set the stage for the most fantastical underdog story of the VHL. The Rock That Could. 

 

The Rock was drafted by the Seattle Bears in the latter half of the first round – at 12th overall. It was Seattle’s 3rd pick of the draft. It was a little lower than Johnson wanted but not higher than everyone expected. Johnson was pleased to be on Seattle and his player agent, Phil Knight was even happier still, as he’s had nothing but good experiences with the Organization. This will be his 3rd player to step into the home locker room in Seattle. 

 

Looking at his season stats does not do his perception any favours. The Rock played in all 72 games but only registered 3 points. Before the halfway point of the season, his General Manager, who was not impressed with his play, decided to bench him and limit his play. So throughout his rookie season he only averaged 7.6 minutes per game, which was the second lowest in the league. It’s not that he didn’t deserve to be on restricted minutes, but the GM couldn’t gamble on the Rock eating minutes trying to improve. He needed to prove in practice that he was good enough, but that apparently never happened.

 

 

 

It’s not all bad though. The Rock did lay out 69 hits, and only got hit 9 times, proving himself to be a physical presence that did a solid job of reclaiming the puck and causing turnovers. He also did an admirable job stepping into the face off circle when needed, ending the season with a 43.59% win percentage. 

 

In the playoffs, Phil appeared on the ice for just 2 minutes over the 10 games, average just 23 seconds a game… barely even a shift. He would have loved to help his team out more, but ultimately there were just better players than needed to carry the team. Seattle lost in the Conference Semi-Finals to Chicago, who are currently awaiting their opponents in the Finals, so was it all for naught?

Overall, Phil Knight has never had a player that has been on restricted minutes. He takes pride in the players he accepts to the agency being stand-out talents, so he’s a little worried that with all the restrictions placed on The Rock, that his development will be damaged for the rest of his career, but hope remains.

 

“I know what the Rock is capable of – that why I signed him. I see the talent this young athlete has and so I definitely expect a bounce-back season from him. That is, provided the organization gives him the minutes to shine. It’s that much harder to develop if you’re only getting a couple of minutes per game. But he’ll be alright.”

 

What the future holds for the Rock, we do not know, but the stage is set for him to become the Cinderella story of the S76 draft. The hairiest, most muscular Cinderella, but still.