AJ Williams First Week VHLM

[AJW 2,157]

AJ Williams’ First Week in the VHLM

 

The first week of my VHLM career has been an absolute blast fuelled by the great teammates, coaches, and community of the VHL/M. It’s crazy to think of how much I have learned, how many relationships I have built, and all of the new people I have met in such a short time. I plan on playing in this league for a long time after the great first impression I have gotten.

My career started off on a random Tuesday morning when I decided I should join the VHLM in hopes of pursuing my professional hockey career. I was so thrilled when I made the call to join the league and instantly get an offer to play for the Ottawa Lynx. I had just missed the draft so I was a free agent, up for any team who wanted me. I had been told by friends and coaches that accepting the first offer is not the best idea, waiting to see what your options are is the smart move, but I did not care. Overcome with excitement I accepted the offer from the Lynx and the next thing you know I was chatting one on one with the GM. He was a very welcoming guy and I instantly knew I picked the right place to be. I then signed my first entry level contract and was now part of the VHLM.

After the signing, I headed to the locker room to meet all of my new teammates. I did not know any of them right away but after a couple of days I had chatted with all of them at least once. They are a good group of guys and I am very excited to spend the season with them. After that I did a lot of talking with the GM. He said to come to him anytime I needed to, for anything, and that I did. I probably asked him a million questions; “how can I improve my game?”, “what are and where is everything I need to know?”, “who’s who?”... I felt like I was bombarding and overwhelming him with questions but he had all the answers to everything which helped me get on my feet fast. I did as much training and researching as I could the first day in order to figure out how to succeed in this league to eventually take on the big show, the VHL. But this is only my first week and I've got plenty of time until then.

After an insanely busy first day, I was already lacing up my skates for our first game and home opener against the Miami Marauders. I did not know what to expect, I have only been in the league for one day and do not know how good all the teams are, so I went into the game free minded just hoping for the best. I was pretty nervous though, I can not lie, and I think the stat line showed those feelings because I put up a big goose egg in the point category in a 3-2 loss. I guess I can not expect to show up big every game, and this was my first one, so I did not let it get to me. The second and third game went a lot more smoothly as I got an assist in both games. We won one game and lost the other. It was a lot more comforting to know I got my first points but also that the team got their first win of the season. 

Now game 4 is a game I will never forget, we played the Mississauga Hounds and were up 4-3 in the third period. With 11 minutes left to play in the game we get a power play and my coach puts me in. I do not even remember how it happened, it is all a blur already because my adrenaline shot through the roof the second I saw the puck leave my stick and hit the back of the net. It was the best feeling ever. I am sure the crowd was going crazy and the goal horn was loud but I could not even hear it over my screams of excitement. We won that game 5-4 and my first ever VHLM goal was the game winner. I did not think my time in the league could get any better than what it was at that moment.

The next morning I woke up to an announcement posted from our Ottawa Lynx GM about this season’s captains for the team. To my surprise my name was listed, I was the new assistant captain for the Lynx. I felt as if I was too new to the team and the other players who had been there longer deserved the honour, but I was not going to turn the leadership role down. I guess my impact on the team has already been shown and I have the trust from my management and teammates which made me feel well appreciated. I was going to make sure I was dedicated to the team and my game now that I have people looking up to me at all times to be a leader in this great organization.

With all of these highs in my career already, the lows were sure to come. And they did come. The next five games all resulted in losses for the Lynx squad. Halifax slapped us around in a 7-1 embarrassment, Philadelphia had their fun with us leaving our arena with a 5-1 win in their pockets, Minnesota showed us who’s boss in a back to back matchup winning 6-4 and 6-2. Then we faced Mississauga who we beat earlier in the season, but this time they got the best of us in a 5-4 victory. I left all 5 games with nothing to show for, no points, and a -6 plus/minus stat. A hard couple games for sure, but with my leadership role as an assistant captain I did not let it affect me and team morale in the locker room. There is a long season ahead and I made sure my teammates know that a couple bumps in the road does not determine the final result. The Ottawa Lynx may not be the best team in the VHLM at the moment, but I am positive we will turn people’s heads when we make it to the playoffs. It is a lot of confidence coming from a new player to the league, but I have faith in the men I sit beside in the locker room everyday.

So there it is, my first week in the VHLM. It went by so quickly in my books with all of the fun I have had so far. Even with the tough times the team and I experienced in the last half of my first week, I am fully determined to keep pushing ahead and not dwell on the past. There’s a long road ahead for me and I am extremely excited as to what it will bring me.

 

(1171 Words, using PT for weeks May 30, June 6)

[Juice 641]

Review:

 

Hot damn AJ, already off to a hot start with a great media spot! I love that you wrote it from your player perspective from start to end, and you used a wonderful amount of diversity in your vocabulary to keep me entertained all the way through! Despite not having the hottest start, your activity and love of the team is easily shown on the effort you made here, and that is definitely why you've been given the "A" for the team.

 

Although I'd prefer to usually have the formatting a bit more touched up (paragraphed up, as it can be hard to read a block of text) as well as some pictures, you've absolutely killed it for your first media spot and I can't wait to see more going forward! I'd give this a solid 8/10

[diacope 1,696]

Sounds a lot like my first time around picking a team right away and being selected as captain for San Diego.. Except I wasn't able to post any big articles like this. Happy to hear you are enjoying things, it does go quick though, think it's close to 2 months a season 

 

Didn't know who to cheer for this season so Ottawa it is

 

LET'S GO LYNX! Let's go 

Edited May 24, 2021 by 16z

[AJW 2,157]

56 minutes ago, Juice said:

Review:

 

Hot damn AJ, already off to a hot start with a great media spot! I love that you wrote it from your player perspective from start to end, and you used a wonderful amount of diversity in your vocabulary to keep me entertained all the way through! Despite not having the hottest start, your activity and love of the team is easily shown on the effort you made here, and that is definitely why you've been given the "A" for the team.

 

Although I'd prefer to usually have the formatting a bit more touched up (paragraphed up, as it can be hard to read a block of text) as well as some pictures, you've absolutely killed it for your first media spot and I can't wait to see more going forward! I'd give this a solid 8/10

Great review, I’ll definitely put some time into formatting for my next article. Thank you!

 

[JardyB10 4,865]

Good work man, you’re off to an awesome start!

[PistolP 6]

Great story you made for your player. Super detailed and fun to read. I definitely would have voted you for one of our captains too so I'm happy you got the 'A'. Keep up the hard work and you'll be in the VHL in no time.

The paragraph forming was hard to read since it looks so plain so maybe next time spice it up with some our your graphics you've made. 9/10.

[NerdyCowz 55]

great write up and I've noticed you popping off in activity/ the M already! great player perspective/ character build up cant wait for more! maybe try next time to space things out a bit more and either bold or use italics to make things more easy to follow along. other then that solid article ! 8/10 

[NerdyCowz 55]

great write up and I've noticed you popping off in activity/ the M already! great player perspective/ character build up cant wait for more! maybe try next time to space things out a bit more and either bold or use italics to make things more easy to follow along. other then that solid article ! 8/10 

[AJW 2,157]

Claiming 2/2 (June 6)