Wumbo Drafted by Oslo, Warsaw

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

WUMBO DRAFTED BY OSLO, WARSAW

 

OSLO, NORWAY - Every player's career is filled with defining moments - whether it's a series winning goal, a game losing penalty, or the save of the season, every player has individual points of time that will stay with them forever. For many young players, their first defining moment is the VHL Draft. Historically, a player would be drafted by their VHL team the season after they are drafted by a VHLM team. However, with the introduction of the VHLE, players are now often selected twice within the same week - once to their next step in development in the VHLE, and once to their professional team in the VHL. This past week, Wumbo went through this selection process, first with the VHLE and then with the VHL.

 

The VHLE's inaugural season included six teams throughout Europe. In Season 81, the league expanded by two teams and reintroduced previous franchises associated with the VHL and VHLM - the Oslo Storm and the Geneva Rush, previously of Yukon. In the Season 82 VHLE Draft, the Oslo Storm selected Wumbo, the young goaltender from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In their first season, the Storm finished with 55 points in 72 games, good enough for 6th best record out of 8 teams. This was a very respectable first season in a league in which the team was given limited additional roster players to catch-up to the already established teams (editors note: no idea if that is true or not, but it makes for good writing). While the team was able to add a good mix of young players with potential and veterans who either couldn't quite hack it in the VHL or were past their prime, the goaltending situation was never quite settled. Michael Fletcher, a wily veteran who never made his mark in the VHL, manned the net for all 72 of the Storm's regular season games and all 8 playoff games. The Storm are hoping that Wumbo will make his mark in the Storm net for Season 82. Given the level of prospect Wumbo is, it is extremely unlikely that he will be in the net after this upcoming season, but that is the nature of these leagues. 

 

"Excited to join Oslo - HERE WE GO! #BringTheStorm" tweeted Wumbo after his selection.

 

In his introductory press conference, Wumbo elaborated a little further: "Obviously my player agency has had a large number of players in this league. Surprisingly, it is believed (but not 100% confirmed) that this agency never played for the Storm for any length of time. I'm also the first player to go through the VHLE, so I'll be a little bit of a guinea pig. If I'm perfectly honest, I don't know too much about the Storm organization or Oslo as a city, but similar to Saskatoon, I'm excited to learn more."

 

While joining a VHLE franchise is exciting for a young player, it is not as career defining as the VHL Draft. The team that selects a player is guaranteed at least three seasons of control, and the vast majority of players continue with this team for at least one or two more seasons, if not longer. Earlier tonight, Wumbo was selected by the Warsaw Predators 10th overall. It was only earlier that day that the general manager reached out to Wumbo's representatives to notify them that the young goaltender was potentially in their plans at the 10th overall pick. Wumbo had to watch 3 goalies selected before him, but in all honesty, that wasn't too much of a surprise. Last season, the Predators finished 5th in the European Conference and 8th in the VHL. Backstopped by veteran Andrew Bowman, Warsaw defeated the HC Davos Dynamo in the 1st round of the playoffs 3-1, but were then swept by the Malmo Nighthawks 4-0 in the 2nd round. However, Bowman has notified the team that he was retiring after the season, leaving a gaping hole in net.

 

It's currently unknown what direction the Predators will be moving in Season 82 and beyond (editor's note: as in I have no idea, as I just joined the team and haven't followed the VHL for a couple of seasons). While the team has some veteran players and up and coming rookies, there is currently a gaping hole in net. Wumbo is not expected to join the team until next season, so the franchise is in an awkward position of attempting to find a netminder for the current without potentially alienating their expected netminder of the future. Does the team continue to go all in for next season, or is this an opportunity to potentially sell off and set up for a rebuild?

 

"The past couple of hours have been a whirlwind," commented Wumbo. "I haven't yet had the opportunity to speak with management to learn about what the team's expectations are for the next couple of seasons and how I tie into them. I'd be excited to go in goal for a contending team just as much as I would be to help lead a rebuild. As a goalie, there are limited starting spots in the league, and even fewer for a contender, so theoretically if I wanted to leave, WHICH I DO NOT, it's not like I'd really have an opportunity to do so. In general, as a goalie, your fit within your own team, let alone another team, just comes down to fit and time and is luck dependent."

 

All in all, the future is looking bright for Wumbo. While not necessarily expected to be the top goaltender in his draft class, his realistic potential is that of a solid, franchise goaltender. Most years, he's not going to be the reason you lose many games, and he'll most likely have the ability to steal a couple as well. His NHL compatibles include Corey Crawford, Steve Mason, and Martin Biron. While some teams may be able to do better than Wumbo in net, every team would be able to do worse as well.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

1,000 words exactly, claiming week ending 1/23 and week ending 1/30.

[a_Ferk 766]

Good luck in Oslo, they were one of the up and coming teams last season. The only real good player was Yun Chiang, so maybe Wumbo can be their all-star this season. I like how you actually used quotation marks properly in this article. In a lot of the ones I read on this site, a different color is used to differentiate who is talking. I think you’ll have fun in Warsaw since your last player never played in the S73 expansion era. There’s a lot more scoring now. 10/10

[qripll 501]

good luck in Oslo, see ya in Warsaw! 

[jacobcarson877 2,528]

Enjoy your time in Oslo and the VHLE! Excellently written Media Spot. It had a perfect balance of informative text and personal experience. Being a goaltender is such a unique experience in the VHL so finding a good environment is critical. I think the VHLE has been and will continue to be most useful for goaltenders, giving you the chance to get more starts and a better development path. Well formatted and reads well. Every paragraph brought something to the piece. 10/10