Phoenix Dawson Rookie Experience

[Toast 887]

DAWSON MOVES TO THE SIX -- THE FULL ROOKIE EXPERIENCE

 

Dawson was traded in his rookie season to the Toronto Legion, closing off what was certainly an interesting first season in the VHL

 

Phoenix Dawson is coming to the end of his rookie season in the VHL. After a couple strong seasons in Miami, Phoenix arrived in Seattle with the promise that he was going to become one of the best players in franchise history. Coming from the Toast Player Agency there is also the pressure of being the first player the agency has had to make it into the VHL in the past 20 seasons. 

 

Coming into the league Dawson is still working on his pass-first but the young center has done an excellent job bulking up over the off-season so that he will not easily be pushed off the puck by the more experienced players in the league. While still being a younger player it seems that he will be playing on the wing as opposed to his natural center position that he excelled in at the VHLM level. This makes sense as VHL teams are going to want to be sure that they are able to win as many draws as they can and Dawson with only average faceoff skills would easily see the losses pile up. 

 

Through his rookie season, it’s clear that things were not perfect in Seattle. While Dawson got along with a lot of the players and the management, there was talk in the media if Dawson was committed to being the best player that he could be. Starting off as one of the most dedicated players in his Miami days, it was clear that Dawson was missing a few opportunities at practice hours over the season. On the ice Dawson saw quite a bit of time on the ice, averaging just short of 20 minutes a game but wasn’t really able to hit the performance that he expected. Through 56 games with the Bears, Dawson found the back of the net 13 times and got 27 points for a respectable rookie campaign. He was however a -14 for the team that had some players like Isabella Campbell at +24 showing that he was a liability in even strength situations.

 

At the trade deadline, Dawson was flipped to the Toronto Legion in exchange for fellow S76 draft member Frank Funk Jr. Both teams mentioned how a change of scenery may be best for both players. So coming to the end of the rookie campaign for Dawson, things have certainly been interesting. Going forward he needs to show that he is dedicated to becoming the #1 center he believes he is. If he can, he is in the perfect opportunity in Toronto to become a star.