Anze Miklavz - Rookie Experience

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Anze Miklavz

The Rookie Experience

 

 

Day 1 of the S79 season and the final buzzer sounds. The Riga Reign win their first game of the year against the rebuilding Helsinki Titans. Anze Miklavz is aware of the slow starts in previous seasons for this Riga team – and with two goals (including the game winner) to kick-off his VHL career, he’s doing his best to contribute to a potential contending season for the Reign.

 

Miklavz was drafted 15^th overall in the S78 VHL Entry Draft – a somewhat surprising fall considering being ranked no higher than 8^th in preliminary mock drafts.
At this pace, he’s looking like the steal of the draft – and a sigh of relief for the Reign, who’s first pick in the same draft (Milk Jugs) has since left the league.

 

 

“You have less than a second to figure out what you’re doing with the puck before it’s gone again.”

 

Anze knows the challenges he will face ahead as he adjusts himself to a faster, harder and much more intense style of play in the VHL. Something he himself has picked up on pretty quick after his first couple games with Riga. “It’s an absolute grind to keep up with play – but I know I’m getting there. Scoring twice in my first game was great, and despite being pointless since, I feel that my defensive play has made up for it. The game is quick – very quick – you have less than a second to figure out what you’re doing with the puck before it’s gone again. I’m very glad I pushed myself this offseason to make sure I was ready going into this season”.

 

Riga hasn’t played a playoff game since S75, and despite having a playoff roster on paper the past couple seasons, they have been on the wrong side of luck – especially last season when a powerful rally fell short in a tie-breaker with the Malmo Nighthawks. They also saw their star goalie Calvin Harvey leave abruptly to pursue a career in humanitarian aid.

 

The disappointment of S78 is mutual between the Reign and Miklavz, with the latter coming off a VHLM season that saw a drop in both goals and assists from the season before. “Yeah – I was pretty disappointed in my performance. My primary focus was to play better defensively, and I think I did achieve that. But I was really hoping to be amongst the scoring leaders last season – a personal failure for me”.

 

Anze Miklavz - VHLM Stats

 

With the S79 season off to a good start for Miklavz and Riga, both are looking to close the door on previous failures and steer the ship in the right direction – and with rumors of a new Riga logo in the works, there are lots of reasons to be excited for the future of this franchise. Miklavz himself remains focused on the Stolzschweiger Trophy as rookie of the year – but more importantly he wants to help end the drought for Riga and bring home their first Continental Trophy since S72.

 

“Riga has been so good to me – and I’ve seen how frustrated they were when the games weren’t going their way. They deserve a good run this year and I’m extremely glad to be apart of it. They have trust in me with my spot on the first line, and I’m hoping to continue to make sure I can pay them back for taking a chance on me with the 15^th pick.”

 

 

Edited July 25, 2021 by McKelvie