Steve Eso and the Rookie Experience

[Eso 117]

After his breakout season as captain of the Saskatoon Wild in his second full season in the VHLM, Steve Eso was interviewed by several teams heading into the S75 VHL entry draft. He was far from a blue chip sure thing - this was a deep draft class led by Taro Tsujimoto. After watching the first few picks on TV, his phone rang. It was the general manager of the Chicago Phoenix, saying that they intended to take him in the third round. Though he was not at the draft, he was proud to hear his name selected as the 37th overall pick.

 

Late that summer he went to training camp in Chicago, looking forward to learning from the experience, but fully expecting to be sent back down to Saskatoon for that season. However, after cap concluded he was told that he had made the team - this was partly on his own merit, but also a reality that Chicago needed a few players on entry level contracts to round out their roster.

 

He made his debut, and had to quickly adapt to the realities of the VHL - after being one of the best players on his team at every stage in his life up to this point, he was now the worst player on his team. He played third line minutes in a checking role, but only played around 10 minutes per game on average, as Chicago had a highly skilled top 6 that shouldered most of the load.

 

Eso had a great time in Chicago, getting to know his teammates, and winning a lot of hockey games. Although Eso did not contribute an amazing amount in his rookie season (23 points in 72 games, minus 5), his job was mostly to hold down the fort and not get scored on while the top line caught their breath.

 

The Chicago Phoenix were so strong that season, that they were able to go into the playoffs as a top seed, and eventually won the championship! A bit of a storybook start to Eso's career, hoisting the trophy in his rookie season. Eso was almost non-existent on the scoresheet during that playoff run (0 goals, 4 assists, plus 4 in 15 games) but was happy to do his part, whatever role that might be.

 

In the off-season, he was informed that Chicago was facing a cap crunch and they were seeking to trade him to shed salary. Eso was traded to the rebuilding Calgary Wranglers where he could be a part of a young squad, and he was named an alternate captain before the start of his sophomore season.